


Frostborn

by IFallLikeLeavesAndSnow



Category: Rise of the Guardians (2012)
Genre: AU, Anachronistic vocabulary, BAMF! Guardians, Gen, Grimmesque World, Loads and Loads of Characters - Freeform, Lots and lots of fight scenes, Many Mythos', Occasionally terrible one liners, Visible!Jack, Worldbuilding
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-11-25
Updated: 2016-02-19
Packaged: 2018-05-03 07:23:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 8
Words: 31,085
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5281901
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/IFallLikeLeavesAndSnow/pseuds/IFallLikeLeavesAndSnow
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Something waits in the shadows. Something cold and cruel and hungry. It's name is Pitch Black, and there is only so much time until he feasts. Unfortunately for him, there are a few people who have something to say about that. Slight problem.</p><p>They've never met.</p><p>Being the gathering of a band of heroes in a quest to defeat a dark villain, reclaim their stolen loved ones, and save the world. If they don't kill one another first.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Autarch Arises

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dark forces fall upon the town of Burgess, rousing the ire of one of the Winter Dell's supernatural residents.

_Mad-_

_Col-_

_Run!_

_Bliz-_

_Get to_

_Cold_

_Cold_

_Cold_

_Co       ld_

_Col      d_

_C         o          l           d_

_Why?_

_Dark_

 

 

**_Alone_ **

 

 

_Crack!_  

These were the last thoughts of one man and the first moments of another. Beneath the light of a newborn moon, a life was made anew. If there had been any observer that night other than the silent moon they would’ve seen a quite peculiar sight. A large chunk of ice, having been freed from its position higher in the mountains by something more than mere happenstance, cracked. The crack was not overly large but it was big enough for something quite miraculous to escape from it; light. It poured out in an unstoppable stream, shooting up into the aether. Soon however, the light came back, spiraling down and mixing with the silvery gleam of the moons radiant glow. The light changed, became cold and pure and settled back into the ice. 

As the light streamed back into its container the ice began to melt. It seemed by turns as if it was simply thawing and being carved away with a fine sculptors hand. A shape soon became apparent in the block. As the ice thinned the details became more defined. Buried in the ice was a young man. He was clothed in a short brown cloak, a white shirt, and brown pants, tied at the bottoms with brown chord. His expression was still and peaceful, he looked for all the world to be sleeping. More and more of the ice melted and was carved away, until only the thinnest of layers separated his skin from the moonlight. Beneath the last of the ice however, a change began to take place. His hair, previously a shade of brown, began to lighten, and his skin grew white beneath its frosty blanket. When the last of the ice was gone, the young man’s form slumped into the snow, his hair now white as the powder on which it lay, and his skin almost as pale.

After a moment, the boy's form stirred. First it was a twitch in his hand, then his leg stretched. With a groan the boy sat up, limbs uncoiling. Opening bleary eyes that had not seen moonlight in many years, the young man looked around. As he did so, though he did not know it, the last remnants of brown fled from his eyes leaving the irises the blue of fresh frost and with a pattern of ferns. As he stood he took stock of his surroundings. It was as he did so that he found the holes in his mind. He could remember many things; he knew how to read and write, how to do math, He knew how to wield a shepherds crook, though he had not awoken with one. All these things and more he know. One thing he didn't remember however, was himself. Each and every memory that he might ever have had was gone, leaving his mind as blank as the snow. Before panic could set it however, he heard something.

It couldn't be described as a voice, or even a whisper; it was more like a half forgotten thought, the memory of a fading dream, the sound of a snowflake falling. Stranger still, he couldn't seem to tell which direction the noise was coming from, almost as if it were in his head. It was light, it was practically none existent, but it was important.

_You are Jack Frost_

Then, just like that, the impossible noise was gone. But the quiet that reigned after that proclamation, the young man smiled. At least he had a name now.

"I am. . . Jack," he said to himself tentatively. Then with greater confidence he said "I'm Jack" and then finally "I'm Jack, Jack Frost,” he proudly declared. Smiling to himself, Jack looked toward the moon, feeling quite certain somehow that the message had come from it. The moon did not reply, but it seemed to brighten at his gaze.

"So, what do I do now?" Jack wondered aloud, though he received no answer. In the distance, far down and away from the mountain Jack noticed a faint collection of lights, which he assumed was a village. "Well," he said to the empty air, "I might as well get going." Without another word he set off towards the shimmering lights in the distance, feet flying and frost chasing at his heels.

But that was years ago, and much has changed since then.

* * *

 

The night was, as ever, a dark one. Through the barren ring of trees that surrounded the town of Burgess, the wind whistled high and shrill and cold. Overhead, the tender light of the moon was choked out by thick, heavy clouds. The small clock tower in the middle of town struck once, signaling the change of the hour. The lights of the village were few, as the little ones had long since fallen into dreams, as had most of their parents. A lone candle burned in the window of the house of the town accountant, a thin fastidious man, who never slept until the books were perfectly balanced. Save for the whistling of the wind all was quiet, all was still.

And it was all about to go terribly, terribly wrong.

The clouds over Burgess hung heavy with shadows and malice. Whenever slender silver javelins of moonlight managed to pierce the ever thickening veil, they were soon smothered out by the darkness that crept across the Winter Dell. The nights of the Winter Dell were often filled with the sound of sighs and moans as the bare trees bent under the weight of the wind. This night however, the air was still, the world was quiet, and the darkness leered at the town and the sparse lights that were scattered about it. Then, with languid ease, it crept forward to snuff the brightness out.

The accountant had just finished going over the books for the night when he heard it. In the distance, drawing nearer, a peculiar keening sound. Having spent all his life in the village, he knew well the sounds of the night. Aside from the wind and the trees, there were other, more dangerous sounds. There were the sounds of growls, of men with the souls of wolves, or perhaps wolves with the forms of men. Hungry things, with glass sharp smiles and pretty eyes, calling for aid in the cold and dark, waiting with teeth and claw in the deep snow. The Lady of the Long Nights, cursed be her name, came only rarely, resting for years, until the winter nights grew too great and cold for the people to bear. Then and only then would she come to claim the weary with her song. All these and more were the dangerous sounds of the Dell. And this sound was none of those. The sound grew clearer the closer it drew, and eventually he realized just what it was. The sound of wheels rang out in the darkness, and yet the sound was wrong. He peered out his window, down the lone road into town. Slowly, a vague shape began to emerge from the darkness.

The accountant’s candle, his only companion on nights like this, guttered out. In the new found darkness he was blind. He stumbled, reaching for a match and felt something like velvet on his fingers. The darkness slithered over his skin and into his eyes and down his throat. With nary a sound, the accountant fell into dark and fitful slumber. All over town, those still awake found their lights snuffed, and their minds dragged into the black. The rest of all was disturbed that night. In the sudden, stifling silence that comes when none are awake, the sound of the wheels was even louder.

And the sound was heard.

The whistling tune of the wheels carried through the dead air into a small brown house, and crawled inside the ears of a pair of small children. It slithered into their sleep and dragged them from their dreams. Eyes heavy with sand blinked open in the darkness. The wheels rolled to a stop in the town square, their tune having reach its audience. There was nothing to do but wait.

It didn’t take long.

Half-awake the two children moved through their house, creeping over floorboards and past the oddly still form of their dog. The noise in their heads bid them come, demanded they follow it back and so they did. It was only when they neared the square and saw the source of the noise that they snapped fully into wakefulness. Sitting in the town square was a caravan, nigh indistinguishable from the darkness save that its edges seemed blacker than the shadows. As the two got closer to it the elder of them, a boy with brown hair, looked it over. The body was made of black wood, though he couldn’t tell what type. There was no door on the side facing them and any attempt to view through the windows was obscured by thick black curtains. The wheels were quite interesting. Though they seemed to be made of an oddly dull silvery metal, that was the most uninteresting part of it. The wheels were covered in etchings, and small holes dotted each one. The designs seemed to be unique for each wheel, though they shared a general theme. The boy thought he saw a number of faces in the carvings. He hoped he was wrong, as they all seemed to be screaming.

“Hello children.” A voice from the other side of the caravan said. The boy and his sister flinched at the sound. Every instinct in his body told him to flee with his sister and run back home, but something inside of him refused to listen. Instead he took his sisters hand and walked around the caravan.

On the other side there was a small campfire, though there had been no sign of it moments before. Sitting by the side of a fire, staring into the flames was a man. He wore a black cloak which covered much of his body. What little of his face could be seen had a gray pallor. The man turned his head and the hood of his cloak fell back a bit. “Come sit with me for a moment, will you children?” He asked with a small grin, his teeth glinting and sharp. The flames danced in his eyes, casting light on the oddly orange irises.

“Who are you?” The boy asked. Without really noticing it, he moved closer and settled down by the fireside, his sister beside him.

“Me? I’m but a humble storyteller little one, a much better question is who are _you_?”

The words spilled from the boys lips, “My name's Jaime.” He said, eyes widening as his mouth betrayed him.

“Ah Jaime, what a nice name for a young lad, and what of your sister?”

“Sophie,” the little girl eked out.

“Sophie? My that’s a pretty name. Well then Jamie, Sophie,” he nodded at each of them in turn, “would you like to hear a story?” The man’s voice never strayed from its light tone, never darkened, and yet the two shivered. Idly Jaime noticed that for all the fires glow he felt no warmth even at its edge.

“We have nothing to pay you with.” He said politely, for politeness could do much when dealing with some creatures, and it was better safe than sorry.

“Oh that’s quite alright, I don’t mind giving away the occasional story to the young ones. Think of it as helping me hone my craft if you like.”

“There’s really no need, it is after all very late and we should really be getting back home soon.”

“Oh pish posh don’t you worry, it’ll be over before you know it. Here, just give me a minute or two and then if you want to you can leave, alright? Now then listen close children, because this one is quite scary.” The man chuckled and for the first time a note of malice crept into his voice. The man was silent for a moment after that and in that moment Jaime realized a few things. The fire gave no warmth and now he realized it also gave no sound. The light cast by the unnatural flames gave relief from the shadows only so far. Beyond that there was nothing but impenetrable blackness all around. Finally a noise broke through the stifling silence, as a howl rang through the darkness. The man’s smile widened.

“This story begins as all good stories do, and that is once upon a time.” The man’s smile glinted in the light, wider than should’ve been possible, teeth sharp as flint and half as black. He opened his mouth and a story poured forth, full of blackness and bile and none of it held back by anything so common as words. When it was over, the children sat in shock and fear. Then as one they screamed and the man’s laugh sang in chorus with their terror as the light finally died.

 

In the morning there would be frantic searching. There would be yells of fear and anger, tears would be shed and searches would be conducted. The woods would be scoured to the extent that they safely could. In the morning there would be threats and vows and oaths. In the morning the only one capable of doing anything at all would arrive back home to devastation. In the morning there would be mourning.

 

For now though there is nothing. Nothing but a cascade of moonlight striking through the clouds, heavy with anger and regret, as a spirit older than the sky rages at its own impotence. For the great guardian has failed in his duties, his champions are far from ready, and darkness has risen once more.

And we should all be very afraid.

* * *

Frost curled under Jack as he made his way through the forest. His feet made no sound as they descended on the snow and they left behind no footprint. The bare trees were absent of their usual cries, something that gave him a vague sense of unease.

The Winter Dell had been in possession of its own special brand of animal since he’d woken up in it. Little grew in the Dell that wasn’t touched by Winter, and that went the same for the animals. It was what allowed humans to live in it in the first place.

To find everything so silent was . . . disconcerting. Still, it probably wasn’t anything _too_ worrying. He’d give the forest a thorough checking that night, make sure nothing was getting too overconfident. He’d been gone for a bit, and in his absence he wouldn’t have been surprised if some of the less intelligent creatures had encroached on the village.

Whistling a tuneless song he continued along his meandering path, fingers tracing lightly along any nearby bark. His skin was a flawless as it had been when he’d awoken. It hadn’t gained any new wrinkles or scars or any other mark in the past ten years. A decade had done nothing to alter his looks, and he was fairly certain that time had lost its hold on him.

Currently, he was on his way back to the village of Burgess, a bundle slung over his shoulder. Inside the bundle were a number of things he had bought, haggled for, found, or " _borrowed"_ and all of them were for two very special children.

Generally the people of Burgess didn't mind Jack's presence, though they weren't comfortable with him being near their children. To them he was merely "The Frost Boy" a creature that caused no harm aside from the occasional prank, but one that should generally be left alone.

Just because Jack was harmless didn't mean that being associated with him wasn't dangerous after all, or at least that's what they believed. Only one family in the whole town was entirely fine with his presence and it was for them that he was bringing gifts.

He was nearly to the village when it happened. There was an imperceptible shift in the air, and immediately his guard was raised as his quiet tune died off. There was something wrong, he sensed, something not quite right; the very snow beneath his feet felt _different_.

Nudging the white flakes with his toes, he unearthed something extremely worrying. Beneath the fresh coat of crystalline ice there was a different snow. Unlike the pure white of freshly fallen snow, or the dirty shade snow got when mixed with mud, this layer of snow was **_black_**. While it wasn't everywhere, it was still obvious that _something_ had tainted it. Bits of black were embedded in the white like tumors.

The air tasted sour in his mouth, and without a word he bolted for the village in a fury of ice and snow.

* * *

 

When he arrived, he sensed in an instant that something was missing. There was an imbalance in the atmosphere, and it left him feeling off kilter. The very first person he ran into grunted and pointed him to the last place he wanted to visit.

The Bennet house was quiet when he knocked on the door. He waited for a few moments and then did so again. It took a minute, but eventually the door opened. The woman in the doorway wasn’t Mrs. Bennett but she was familiar.

“She’s in here,” the woman said, opening the door for him. His heart sank in his chest as he stepped inside. There was no laughter, no cheers, no barks from the dog. There was nothing but silence in the house as the door closed.

Moira Bennet was a picture of despair and fury. She sat in her usual chair, only this time she did not rock quietly as she read from a book. No fire filled the room with warmth, and despite the impossibility of it, a chill ran down his spine. She worried at a knuckle as her eyes hurriedly scanned a page. Abby, the family dog, was nowhere to be found.

“They’ve been taken.” She informed him, looking up from what he recognized as the towns bestiary. Jack was familiar with every creature contained within the pages and a few that weren’t. As far as he knew none of them were capable of doing what the creature that had darkened his snow had.

“I know.” He said because really it seemed quite obvious now what was wrong.

“Some of the townsfolk are out in the woods searching . . . they aren’t going to find them are they?”

He sighed, reining in the ice that tried to escape with his breath, “Probably not.”

“But you can?” The words were soft, hopeful, and they made the tears brimming in her eyes all the more heartbreaking.

Jack strode over to the woman who had been in some ways a mother to him since he arrived in town all those years ago. Without a word he enfolded her in a hug. After a moment or two he pulled away. He drew the tears that had frozen to her cheeks carefully away. “I **will** ,” he insisted. “I’ll find them Moira, and I’ll bring them home.”

The despair in her eyes faded somewhat, still lingering in the back, but no longer overpowering her. The fury however, remained. “I know you will,” she said as he turned away. “And Jack?” She asked as he opened the door. He turned with a questioning look on his face.

“Make it pay.”

* * *

 

He could have spent hours searching for the children as the members of the village had, but he knew it would do no good. Whatever had taken the children wasn't human. Instead he followed the feeling that had been plaguing him since he'd gotten back. Whatever had come had darkened the world in more than a physical sense, and he could, he thought, trace the lingering shadows and fear to their source.

Jack skated over the ground like a flash of white lightning, breath puffing out of the sides of his mouth, though it made no appearance in the freezing air. He had been traveling for half an hour now, and though he had no need for sleep, he did require rest every once in a while. Burgess had long receded into the trees, and the road ahead appeared treacherous and endless. Though it was only noon, the sky overhead was gray as gunmetal, and the sun was already three thirds across the sky.

Night came quickly to those who lived within the Winter Dell. On some days the effect was so startling that those who lived near the boundary line could cross from near total darkness to a clear spring day, or into the brisk breeze of the Valley of Voices depending on which side you lived on. It was now early spring in the places outside the Dell, meaning that it would soon be time for planting.

Though Winter never truly left the Dell, the rise and fall of the other seasons had an effect on it. In the spring the snow receded in places, and the ground grew capable of supporting the odd life that the Dell created. It made for a hard life, but the magic of the Dell was something that few people could bear to leave. Winter was in their bones and to abandon it would’ve taken more will than most had.

As he slid across the icy ground, Jack mulled several ideas over in his head. Jamie and Sophie were taken from the town by a creature that left darkness in its wake, but no tracks. Still, the growing disturbance in the air told him he was getting closer to the creature, or at least that he was picking up a solid trail.

The manner of creature responsible for the theft was puzzling him. The Winter dell was home to many magical entities, a multitude of which could fly, but if it was one of them, then there would be no black snow, or at least much less of it. The snow itself presented another problem. While members of the Dell's residency were far from harmless and a few of them were deliberately malicious as Jack had discovered through firsthand experience, those that would enter the village weren't exactly numerous. More to the point those who _could_ enter the village with evil intent were a scarcity.

Burgess was situated in one of the naturally occurring safe zones of the Dell. Places like that were resistant to entities of maleficence. Then there were the Burgess Bells; crafted decades ago by an unknown forger, the bells were naturally unpleasant for dark creatures and when rung, which they were every night, the detrimental effects on evil they had lasted for a full day. With those protections encircling the village, the number of creatures that would and could approach the village with enough sentience to take the children could be counted on two hands. Of those, none of them left markings like the kind Jack had found. It could only mean one thing.

As had been his habit for years now, he mused allowed to himself as he traveled. "Something came into the Dell, something new, something strong, and something smart."

If a creature like that came into the Dell and immediately went for its largest village, there was little reason to assume that it would remain inside its boundaries or even that it still was; which presented a complication for Jack. While not bound like the other more powerful entities of the Dell to one specific place or even the Dell as a whole, he was not as strong outside of its sphere of influence.

His powers relied more on manipulation of preexisting snow and frost rather than creation. While he could produce the energy required to create the snow, it taxed him greatly. There was only one town left before he exited the Dell, and it was situated in one of the corners of it that he hadn’t explored. In his time before Burgess he’d wandered over much of the territory. His exploratory trips had decreased after he semi settled in Burgess however, having less time for them in between playing with the children and fending off the aggressive monsters that dwelled in the forest and hungered for the flesh of the hunters and farmers. He'd memorized what few maps there were of the Dell and its towns, but they were quite old and denied him knowledge of the land as it was now. From what he knew there wasn’t much space between the next town and the Boundary Line, so he had to assume if he didn't catch the creature now, it would move out of the Dell and be beyond his abilities to defeat.

"Alright," Jack said to the perpetual winter air as he put on a burst of speed "get ready Santoff Claussen, you're about to get frostbite."

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Would you believe that I had a better version of this rewrite all written and I lost it due to not backing up my years old flash drive in five months? And also I didn't upload said version because I wanted to finish the other chapters and do a total overhaul when no one was watching?
> 
> *Sigh*
> 
> Here, have a "better than what was here but not as good as my previous rewrite" rewrite. I'll probably come back and redo the ending bits at a later point because I honestly just got really tired and stopped trying at the end if you couldn't tell. Now then, tomorrow I shall do . . . probably my school work, but maybe chapter two. Not that anyone reads this.


	2. A Simple Misunderstanding

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jack encounters an old man during his search for Jamie and Sophie.

_Jingle. . . Jingle. . . Jingle_

To most people, the ringing of bells is a joyous and melodious sound.

To the dark creatures of the Winter Dell, it was utterly terrifying, for these bells belonged to an old looking man, who had been old looking for a very long time. A large, scarlet sleigh, pulled by a lone reindeer, glided near silently through dim, fading daylight, only the tinkling of the bells belying its presence.

The white-bearded man who rode in it was just as grand as the sleigh itself. Clad in a black and crimson coat, a dark circular hat encompassing his head, the man, known to the members of the town simply as Mr. North, cut a striking figure. If one didn't know any better, one might say this man was a bandit, yet his air was one of royalty; he was neither.

This man was, against all appearances, a toymaker, and a very good one at that; quite possibly the best in the world. In the village of Santoff Claussen, Mr. North was viewed as the kind, if eccentric wood carver; who every year, near the end of December, gave every child in the village a gift.

Usually these gifts were rather bizarre, as they took the form of things the villagers had never heard of. Sometimes they were of exotic animals, others strange contraptions they had no names for, but that Mr. North promised would someday be everywhere. The villagers would merely shrug and laugh, and shake their heads, but secretly they believed; because a lot of odd things happened around Mr. North, and much of what he said came true.

For example, they often said that Mr. North's toys didn't just look strange, they _did_ strange things as well. On certain nights, when the adults were all asleep, and the children were fighting to stay awake in the wee hours; when the dark seemed to crouch in, and noises were heard, they would _move_. Figurines would dance, things called lions would silently hunt through the night. Always the children would sleep when they saw them, and when they woke, they would be still once more, and their unease settled.

Occasionally, the town would commission the old man to work on something for them, a statue, or plaque. They would offer him wood to use, the best they could find, but Mr. North would just smile, and shake his head, and then he would hitch up his sleigh with help from a man named Phil, lock his shop, and he would ride out. He might be gone for days, or weeks, but whenever the deadline approached Mr. North would come back in his bright red sleigh without a trace of wood. The next morning, no matter how early they awoke, the town members would find the carving in place, and Mr. North's shop open once more. No one could place the strange wood's Mr. North used, and when questioned, he would merely reply, occasionally in that strange accent of his that surfaced from time to time "It is very special wood, from very far away" and that would end the matter.

No one in the town questioned that Mr. North had traveled "Mr. North has been places" they'd say "Mr. North has seen things" but no one knew how much. They would occasionally try to guess his age, but whenever pressed he would merely answer with a grin and a chuckle "Old." Whatever the history behind the peculiar man, the townspeople had come to regard him with affection. Though he was a very nice old man, Mr. North was obviously very busy, and so it came as a shock to few when he took on an apprentice; though they were surprised with his choice. North had taken in a young boy by the name of Tobias, though most knew him as Toby.

The boy was nice, but was rather spotty, and always seemed to be off in his own world; which most believed was caused by the death of his parents; for what other way could kind Mr. North have come across the child? Whatever the case may be, the young boy with an affinity for red and green was often seen bumping into objects or making a mess. It had become so much of an issue that North had made the small boy a hat with a bell attached to it. The constant jingle seemed to please the ditzy child, and gave him a bit more clarity. North taught Toby everything he knew, from carving, which he thankfully had a knack for, to that which was truly important, where his talent really shone through, _magic._

Oh the townspeople thought Mr. North was odd certainly, but they would never have guessed that he was a magician. The old man schooled the young child in arts arcane, and in the meantime continued carving for the town; but all that was about to change. North had left Toby at the shop while he had gone out to gather some special wood. The trip would normally have taken only a few hours at most, as the particular tree he needed was rather close comparatively, and the enchantments needed simple, if a bit long.

However, North had run into problems in the form of a pack of Dire wolves. Not seeking to hurt the creatures North had instead opted to subdue them with a simple spell. Catching them all had been tedious, and had added a few minutes to his trip, but North hadn't seen it as too big a deal. He would come to regret that decision soon after, for that delay would give a despicable creature the time it needed, and allow it to evade him.

When the Sigils carved all over town were overloaded, and his connection to a protective amulet Toby wore broke, North doubled his pace, but just missed the black carriage. North arrived just in time to miss seeing the coach fade into a patch of writhing shadows . . . and to come face to face with a certain frost spirit. With a mind clouded in a worry that only a parent could understand, North dismounted the sleigh and approached the strange creature with a smile on his face.

Then, he attacked.

* * *

 

Jack felt a spike of nausea wash over him as he came to a sudden halt in front of the entrance to Santoff Claussen. There was nothing of particular interest in sight, and the only sound in the air was that of the wind. Wait, no, there was something else, something almost. . . _musical_? What was it? It sounded so familiar, he thought for a few moments and realized what it was: bells. Jack turned and was greeted with the sight of a large red sleigh, and in it a large imposing man. Though he appeared old, Jack knew from experience that looks could be deceiving. He could feel no particular ill will from the figure, but that didn't mean much, glamour’s could be powerful things, and this old looking man was definitely magical. The man exited his sleigh, and seemed to approach jovially, until, with a sudden lunge that almost took Jack's head off, he attacked with a previously unseen saber.

Jumping backwards, Jack weaved away from the rapid swipes of the man. Despite his apparent age, he was incredibly fast, and from the grace that he executed his attacks, Jack could tell he was a master at this particular form of combat. As he danced away from the attacks with an agility that few possessed, Jack willed a cloud of the falling flakes into the man’s eyes, blinding him for a few precious seconds. Gaining distance Jack tilted his left hand palm upwards and flexed his fingers. Snowflakes rose from the ground and drifted towards his hand from the air into a tightly compacted ball of ice. With unerring accuracy, the ball shot towards the man, whose eyes cleared just in time to dodge the ball with a speed belying his size.

North glared at the pale boy with a grim smile and told him "It will take more than a few ice-balls to beat me spirit." Jack, despite the circumstances, grinned. With a mocking bow, Jack brought his arms out and held them as he had previously. This time, the snow whirled faster, swirling and compacting into numerous floating orbs. Once more, the spheres shot towards North. This time he was ready. A second blade joined the first, and they slashed down the balls, reducing them once more into powder.

North charged, red energy lighting up his swords bladed edges. Jack retreated once more, staying out of Norths range by sliding backwards on a thin trail of frost. As North put on a burst of speed, Jack brought both of his arms forward in a thrust, sending a wave of snow towards him. North crossed his swords into a glowing X on which the snow hissed and melted instantly upon contact.

Bringing his own powers into play, North stabbed one of his swords into the ground and sent out a green orb surrounded in a snapping yellow mesh. Jack whirled the snow into a tight wall in front of him, which was blasted apart by the orb, though it managed to shield him from the damage. Another orb smashed into the ground at Jack's feet, sending the winter spirit flying backwards into the snow. North approached warily, but jumped back when tendrils of snow started to wrap around his boots. Jack sat up, anger in his eyes.

Slowly, the snow stopped falling, the flakes hanging in midair and rising from the ground. As one they began to spin, the air humming with inaudible noise. With a single push, Jack sent the cloud hurtling at North, who swung his coat around him. The innumerable projectiles shattered against the coat, but they bought Jack the time he needed.

Standing, Jack closed his eyes and concentrated. Extending his right hand, Jack cast his magic about, gathering the snow, but in a much slower manner this time. _Focus, feel where everything connects, find the slots, and fill them, press it together_. Slowly, as North defended himself from the last of the snowflakes, a shape took form. At first, it was just a rod that Jack gripped tightly in his right hand, then as more snow was added on, it began to grow. When he felt the barrage stop, North risked a glance about, and founded the creature holding a three foot ice white stick. Even as North watched, the item continued to grow, extending to four, and then five feet, topping off a little over six feet, with a strange curve reminiscent of a G. As the last snowflake settled into place, Jack opened his eyes and grinned.

"A pretty weapon won't help you beat me." North said.

"It's not just pretty old man" Jack shot back. North merely stabbed his other sword into the ground and reached into his coat. North grinned at Jack, who looked cautiously at the man’s hands as they came back out. North placed three small objects on the ice covered ground, and stood, still grinning.

Jack peered closely at the items, which he realized were animal carvings, the largest of which was a horse, and two smaller ones what appeared to be wolves or dogs. "Alright, spirit, it is time for you to see what a real magician can do." With a snap of his fingers, the objects animated. A tiny neigh came from the horse, and miniature howls could be heard coming from the wolves.

Jack cocked an eyebrow and leaned against his ice staff "Is that it? It's gonna take more than some animate toys to beat me gramps, what, are you running out of ideas?" North chuckled before he began to mumble. Before Jacks eyes, the toys began to change; first the horse, then the wolves began to grow. Before it had reached its crescendo, the wolves howl had become a lot more threatening. Jack glanced at the now larger than life sized wooden wolves and gulped.

"So, spirit" North asked, "Do you think your pretty weapon can save you now?"

Jack grinned at North, and brought his left hand out once more, forming another ball of ice. This time however, the ball shimmered, and a thin blue layer coated it. Jack pulled his arm back, pushed forward with all his might . . . and went shooting backwards towards the woods. As the ice ball thunked into the ground, North looked shocked for a few seconds before, with a bellow, he hopped onto his now large horse and sent the wolves after the retreating spirit. The horse neighed once more and took off after the wolves.

Jack threw up a thin wall of snow behind him when he entered the forest, which the wolves tore through like paper. As he skated along the snowy ground, he left a trail of ice in his wake, attempting to stymie their progress, to no avail as their wooden claws dug into the thin layer and crunched it to pieces. The wolves were within a few feet of Jack, North not far behind, when the pale boy rose into the air. Lifting himself on an impossibly thin layer of snow, Jack grinded on the snow, now several yards above the wolves snapping jaws.

Apparently, however, he wasn't high enough, as a blast courtesy of North smashed into his snowline and sent him sprawling to the forest floor. Jack rolled with the tumble, coming up in a hunched position just in time to send a wave of snow into his lupine pursuers. The wolves managed to shake off most of the snow, but Jack managed to stick a layer to their bodies. With a flip Jack landed on the flank of one of the wolves, which was nearly blasted to pieces by a shot from an approaching North. The other wolf made to strike at Jack, but the young spirit managed to dive out of the way. As the two beasts disentangled themselves, Jack manipulated the snow around them into a firmer layer of ice. While the wolves managed to find purchase, they had to scramble for a bit, giving Jack the time needed to construct something once more. With quick, hurried movements, Jack traced a shape on the ice mirror he had formed and subsequently frosted over. When he was done, Jack reached for the stranger parts of his magic, and pulled the image out.

When North entered the small clearing, he smashed the ice that was hindering his wolves, who eagerly resumed the hunt. Now following behind his wolves, North searched for the frost spirit. Through the trees ahead, he spotted a flash of white, which the wolves, now free of their snow coat, darted after.

The beasts led North into a clearing, where his opponent stood nonchalantly. North glanced around warily, something wasn't right. Even as the wolves moved to pin the spirit, North realized what was wrong. _The staff is gone . . . and is he glowing?_ He thought as the wolves leaped. As they crashed down on the grinning spirit, Jacks form broke apart, and the wolves smashed into each other. From the treetops, a pale figure struck down.

Slapping his hands down on the backs of the beasts, Jack pushed some of his magic into them before propelling himself into a front flip and landing on their heads. The wolves growled and North looked at the boy quizzically. "Do you know what happens when woods freezes?"

North smirked, "As a matter of fact, I do, but my creations have no water in them." Jack grinned, before holding out his hand and focusing. His staff, hidden behind a tree floated into his hand. Beneath him, the wolves slowed, and eventually stopped moving at all.

"So I figured, that's why I gave them some."

North looked at his still creations with a befuddled expression which soon cleared "The ice coats" he said simply.

"Yep" Jack said, "All I had to do was wait long enough for the ice to melt and sink into these two" he said tapping the two "And then freeze it." Jack hopped off of the creatures and took a fighting stance "Their limbs are completely frozen."

"Ah, yes that is very clever" North said smiling, before he grew serious once more. Dismounting the horse, North redrew his swords. "Enough games, where is Toby?" He glared at the spirit.

"Toby?" Jack said as he circled the large man "I don't know who that is, I'm just trying to find Jamie and Sophie."

"Who?" North questioned.

"Small kids, ones a brunette, ones blonde, both under _my_ protection" Jack said before he stopped moving. Shaking his head, Jack sighed, "You have no idea who I'm talking about, do you?"

North shrugged before he letting the red glow of his swords die down. "I am guessing you have no idea who Toby is either, is that correct?" Jack nodded, losing his battle stance entirely. "I am thinking I might have over reacted" North said sheepishly.

"You think?" Jack said dryly, before shaking his head again, "I don't have time for this, whatever took Jamie and Sophie is probably already gone, and I need to get going before I lose the trail entirely."

Jack turned to leave, and was about to skate away when "Wait" North said, "I have an idea." Jack turned to look at the strange and deadly man. "I'm am thinking, that whatever it is that took your Jamie and Sophie is the same thing that took Tobias."

"Yeah?"

"Well, if the same thing took them, then why don't we work together to get them back?"

Jack thought about it. On the one hand, he wasn't sure if he could trust this strange man, and on the other, he wasn't sure if he could take on this creature on his own. Seeing the frost spirit wavering North continued "I am also thinking that you are winter creature, yes?" Jack nodded. "Well then, if the creature moves out of the Dell, how effective will you be hmm?"

Jack frowned as he acknowledged that fact, if the creature was strong enough to enter Burgess, then he probably wouldn't stand much of a chance against it outside of the Winter Dell. North took the final plunge in his argument "Plus" he added hesitantly "I might not be able to take it on, on my own, it managed to overload _all_ of the protective Sigils it passed, and they're quite literally _everywhere_."

Despite his misgivings, Jack made his choice. "Alright fine" he said, which caused North to chuckle excitedly.

"Wonderful" he said, "But I'm am needing your name, I can’t just keep calling you spirit."

"Yeah I suppose I can't just keep calling you gramps either, at least not all the time."

North stuck out his hand "Allow me to introduce myself, I am Nicholas St. North, but my friends just call me North"

Jack took the offered hand with a grin "I'm Jack, Jack Frost."

"Well Jack" North said, "Can I kindly ask you to defrost my wolves? We might need them"

"Oh right" Jack said, moving over to and tapping the wolves. The ice inside the creatures melted instantly, and the water was quickly drawn out by Jack. With a few seemingly nonsensical words, a wave, and a quick remounting, Jack and North were heading back to the village.

* * *

 

During the brief journey back, after North sent a small wooden bird flying back toward the village, Jack explained everything that had led him to Santoff Claussen, which wasn't much. When he told North about the black snow however, the man gained an intense look. "Black snow you say?" North asked, to which Jack nodded. "Hmm, this is very bad"

"Why?" Jack questioned.

"There are a few different creatures that leave shadows where they tread, but not many would come here, fewer still have any significant attachment to children, and for them to overload my Sigils" North sighed, "It does not bode well."

"So what do you think it is?" Jack asked as he and a freshly dismounted North approached a small house with a large pen in the back and a sizable stable sitting next to it.

"Something that should have died a long time ago" he said ominously before sighing. "I will explain on the way."

"Okay, great, but why are we _here,_ shouldn't we get going, before we lose the trail?"

"Yes, but first we have to get my ride."

"What ride?" Jack wondered, "I thought we were going in your sleigh?"

"We are." North said with a smile.

"But isn't your sleigh back there?"

"Ah, you think _that_ is the sleigh we will be taking?" North chuckled. "No no" North opened the door of the stable. Inside, a man dressed in brown and gray furs finished the last hitch on a sleigh.

This one was far larger, capable of seating at least ten people, and the entire thing seemed to glow. Made of a wood most people didn't even know existed, it would take something the equivalent of a rhino horn to put a scratch on the thing. Attached to the back of it was a wooden box that looked just big enough for two people to squeeze into, though oddly enough, there were several small windows set into the sides of it at various heights.

At the front of the cherry red sleigh were eight stamping reindeer, who were soon joined by the one that had pulled North's other sleigh "This is the sleigh we will be taking" North said, grinning at Jack's look of excitement.

Jack hopped up onto the sleigh, and North soon joined him. Turning to the man in furs, North thanked him. "Hopefully, I'll be back before too long Phil, if not, you know what to do." The other man nodded, his large mustache flopping. "Also if you wouldn't mind, could you lock my shop up?" Phil nodded once more. North thanked him once again, and with a snap of the reins, the duo were off. As the snow covered landscape blurred around them, Jack turned to North, "OK, I'll admit it, the sleigh's pretty cool."

North chuckled "Everyone loves the sleigh."

Then the duo rode out into the night, and towards the boundary line.

Towards the darkness.


	3. Beyond The Boundary

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jack leaves the bounds of the Winter Dell and for the first time encounters Spring. Before he can stop and smell the flowers though, an enemy appears.

The thundering of reindeer hooves preceded the shape of the great sled and its passengers. North's coat shifted slightly in the face of the wind, and Jack smiled in delight as the world sped by. They had been traveling for almost a half an hour, and already Jack could feel the tug in his gut, the same tug that always showed up when he neared the boundary line.

It was as if the magic within him was wriggling. Not unpleasant necessarily, but distracting; Jack's brief forays into the area outside the Dell had not been coupled with any bizarre side effects, but he had no intention of testing just how long he could remain safely outside of its sphere of power.

As the dividing line of ice and mist neared, Jack clutched his staff and readied himself for what came next. Despite their dangerous goal, despite the fact that he would be leaving the area where he was strongest, even despite the fact that some _thing_ had taken Jamie and Sophie, he felt . . . _giddy_ would be the closest word; and he couldn't keep the smile off of his face.

All too soon, and yet not soon enough, the reindeer reached the hazy wall and plowed right through it. As Jack passed through the gap, he focused his mind; he would have only a second. As the front of his body passed through into the warmer spring air, the crook of his staff stayed behind in the dell. With as much will as he could muster, Jack wrangled with the wall. For a few heartbeats, the crook seemed to be caught on the mist, before, with a shudder, it relinquished its grasp, and a coil of white curled around the staff, before sinking into the crystal blue. Hooves that had left the ground on ice landed on firm earth, and the empty patch of the air was filled in before Jack could even speak.

North looked at his elemental companion, and quirked an eyebrow, "What was that?" he asked, his voice duel parts amusement and curiosity.

With as much humility as he could muster, which wasn't very much at all, Jack answered. "I just stole a bit of Winter." North smiled wryly, though behind his blue eyes, thoughts were beginning to whirl. As the hooves of the reindeer thudded on the ground, Jack peered over the edge of the sled and saw that the runners had somehow turned into metal plated wheels. "How did you do that?" Jack asked with a grin.

North smirked. "I can do more than just _carve_ wood, Jack."

The countryside had changed in an instant. What had once been billowing fields of snow, icy rivers and lakes, and intricate patterns of frost; were now replaced with grassy hills, warm breezes, and uncountable numbers of multicolored flowers. North breathed in the fresh scent, smiling at the smell of flowers and the unfamiliar warmth in the gusts of wind.

Despite the breathtaking scenery however, North quickly began to get hot under his layers of clothes. With a casual tap of an intricate symbol seemingly painted onto his right shoulder, the coat changed. The thick layers of wool evaporated, turning into a bright red shirt, over which lay a red and black long coat. His pants lost much of their bulk, and his large boots turned into a smaller set, more practical for a spring environment.

While North could merely change his clothes and be fine in most weather conditions, Jack did not have that luxury. The Winter spirit didn't feel overtly bad, but the temperature was higher than it had been on his previous visits. Feeling a little disoriented, Jack clutched at his staff once again, and prodded at the power held within. The magic of Winter was coiled in the crystal, wrapping around the staff in a sheath of icy power. A small spark leaped from the pool of energy and into Jack, revitalizing the spirit. Jack hoped that as he adjusted to the lack of energy, he would need less of it to maintain himself, but for now, the sudden absence of power was unsettling.

The newly transformed Sled-carriage continued on its way down the road, riding smoothly over the uneven ground. Jack peered at his surroundings, taking note of all the strange features a spring environment could hold. Flowers were not unheard of in the Dell, but those that grew had long since adapted, and usually only came in light shades of blue, white, and occasionally purple. These flowers were something else entirely. Vibrant reds, and blues, dazzling yellows, oranges, and purples, and even a different type of white; all these and more sprouted from the ground.

To someone like Jack who had lived in the Dell for his entire life -as far as he could remember- the sights and scents were almost overwhelming. As the sled came abreast of a hill, which the road skirted around, he closed his eyes as he breathed in the amazing new smells, and was trying to decipher which creature was making which noise, when Jack caught an extra scent.

Foul, it lingered at the back of his nose and throat, reeking of death and decay, of a creature incredibly vile. "North" Jack said, his eyes snapping open.

"I know" North replied gravely, as the sled-carriage slowed to a halt "Look."

Jack turned back to the road and was repulsed by what he saw. Previously the hill had obscured it from their sight, but now the damage wrought by the creature was clear. The grass on either side of the road was now blackened, and dead. Previously thriving life had been crushed, the ground stained black, and the calls of animals had ceased, the air filled with empty silence. The flowers that hadn't rotted away were now twisted and sickly, the veins filled with black, and the petals a bloody red; changed by the creature. "What caused this?" Jack asked.

North frowned "Something that should never have existed in the first place." Jack looked at the large man quizzically.

North took a breath before speaking once more "Once, there was a man named Kozmotis Pitchiner" before North could say anything more, he was interrupted by a very strange thing. It happened in the form of a screeching, dark vine covered _thing_ flinging itself at them from atop the hill. Jack and North flung themselves out of the sleigh as the beast landed. Jack wanted to pause for just a moment to enjoy the feel of grass and warm dirt, but the creature in front of him held his attention. It towered over Jack, nearly double his height, and its body was a putrid green, almost like black moss. Wrapped around its body were a number of thorny vines, the tops sharp, and coated in some kind of resin. The face, which was covered in the dead remains of what could only have been a vine like beard, was twisted into a snarl and covered in gashes and what appeared to be boils.

"What _is_ that thing?" Jack asked North, as the man drew his sword.

"Judging from its appearance" North replied, blades glowing with red once again, "It _used_ to be a Leshy"

"What's a Leshy? And what do you mean _used_ to be?"

"Leshy's are guardians of the forest, and the natural creatures within, and they are known for forming pacts with humans; they're not naturally evil, more than anything they are mischievous creatures, though they have a tendency to go overboard."

"And does _this_ qualify as _overboard?_ " Jack asked, leaping backwards from a darkened fist the size his head, and ducking under an arm as thick as a tree branch.

"No, which is where the _used to be_ comes in." North slashed at the darkened back of the Leshy, his sword embedding itself in the trunk like skin. The Leshy roared and turned towards him, ripping the sword from his grasp.

"Do enlighten me" Jack said, as he loosed a bolt of frost at the Leshy's now exposed back. The frost exploded over the creature, and it seemed to shrink slightly as ice crept over its form before, with another roar, it turned once more towards Jack, and the frost shattered. Thin tendrils of yellow-green energy leaped from Norths free hand, wrapping around the Leshy in an attempt to restrain it.

As Jack dodged once more, North continued his speech "This Leshy has been polluted, twisted by the Unlife that Pitch exudes."

"What's Unlife? Who's Pitch?" Jack queried as another frostbolt slammed into the former forest guardian, slowing its movements, if just by a second. North's energy tendrils broke, as explained, "It is a negative energy, a twisting force that takes life and turns it into something foul and dark. As for Pitch? Ask me later."

North leaped onto the beasts back, and grabbed his sword, which now had a layer of vines covering it. Upon contact with its wielders skin, the blade hummed to life once more, and the red energy burned brighter than ever as it cut through the vines, allowing North to fall back to the ground, and take a swipe at the Leshy's leg.

The blade cut easily through bark and presumably whatever kind of bone it possessed, and the creature fell with a howl. Jack skipped back out of the way as the beast fell, the ground shaking on its impact. The respite didn't last long however, as dark vines crept rapidly downward, beginning to join the body with its lost limb. The growth didn't stop there, vines continued to emerge from the ground, surrounding the duo, and trapping them almost within arm’s reach of the Leshy.

Jack tapped his staff against the ground, catching the vines around him with a small blast of ice and freezing them, though they broke out seconds later. North cut down the vines growing near him, before he was clipped slightly by one of the Leshy's fists, sending him spinning toward Jack. Another, stronger wave of frost energy spread from the Jacks staff, the vines freezing solid near the epicenter. Still, more vines grew, and the Leshy now had them trapped in a sphere of dark green growth, the only light coming from North's swords and a faint glow emanating from Jacks staff. A sweep of Jacks staff sent a wave of cold over the vines, which recoiled slightly before snaking towards them once again.

"North, I don't suppose you've got a spell rattling around up there for evil vines, do you?" Jack asked, twisting his staff, and laying a layer of frost down around them, trapping the growth underground.

"Actually, yes" North replied "But I need some time."

"How much time?" Jack sent more precise, almost line like bolts of frost at the vines, freezing chunks of vines at the base, and halting the spread.

"About seven more seconds" North answered, eyes closed. The Leshy was on its feet now, leg fully reattached, and this time, they had nowhere to go. The Leshy's face twisted into a feral grin, and it reached forward to either grab or smash them.

Jack reached into the coil of Winter held within the staff, and pinched a bit from it. With a wave, the pinch whirled out of the crook, and turned into a biting, chilling fog.

It swept through the small dome, settling on everything but North. The Leshy fell back, the vines shriveled, and the air grew still, and then, a small opening appeared in the top of the dome, and the fog flew out, exposing a tired Jack and a still focusing North.

The Leshy and its vines swept forward, tired of the games. Barbed vines and a swinging fist came at Jack and North, an inescapable final strike. Before the blows could connect however, North's eyes snapped open, and a crackling yellow sphere burst into existence around them. The vines hissed and blackened and turned to ash. The Leshy's fist crashed into the sphere, which crackled and thrummed with energy, leaving scorch marks on the arm, which rapidly recoiled.

North smiled, and turned to the wall; the vines almost evaporating as he walked towards them. Jack followed behind the magician, carefully avoiding the edges of the sphere, and stepped into the daylight, quickly moving away from the choking vines. Behind them, the sphere of vines collapsed, and the Leshy stepped out. Eyes full of fury, the beast charged at the duo, and North struck. The orb surrounding the pair collapsed, pooling into a tightly compacted sphere, floating just above Norths palm. As the Leshy neared, North said with a smirk "Dasvidaniya" and the orb shot forward, smashing into the chest of the charging Leshy. A whump sounded, as the orb released the pent up energy in a concentrated burst, throwing the Leshy through the air, and sending it sprawling, burnt and battered, back into the pile of dead and rotting vines its trap had become.

"Alright" Jack said, smiling, "Not bad for an old man" he clapped North on the shoulder. North smiled before quickly turning and making his way back towards the sleigh at a hurried pace. "What's the rush?" Jack asked.

"We should really be going before he gets back up." North answered.

"What? You just wiped the forest floor with him" Jack said, as he followed the elder man. North hopped into the sled-carriage before quirking an eyebrow.

"You think _that_ was enough to take down a Leshy?"

Jack hopped back into the sled-carriage, and turned to look at the Leshy. Before his very disbelieving eyes, the Leshy's burnt form sat up. The vines around it began to climb over its form, stacking and layering themselves, fixing, healing and **_enhancing_** it. Already it was eleven feet tall, without standing. "Yeah" Jack said, "We should be going, like, now."

North cracked the reigns, and his bizarrely calm reindeer -now fitted with horse-shoes suitable for solid ground- burst into movement, the wheels of the sled-carriage turning rapidly. The figure of the Leshy faded quickly from sight, and Jack turned to North, _several_ questions whirling in his mind. "A few questions about the fight" Jack told North.

North shrugged "Ask away."

"Why didn't you attack the Leshy with those weird orb things you shot at _me_?"

"That is a different kind of magic, its energy is concussive, and vines are very bendy, and in such a tight space it could have hit you _or_ me."

"Alright, I can accept that, how about your little statue things?"

"My 'statue things' are made of wood, carved wood, they might have made the Leshy even angrier than it already was, not to mention it might have been able to force vines to grow from _them_ as well, it would have been a waste of time and energy."

"Great, good, then there's also the little issue of how on earth are we going to defeat this _thing_ , if we can’t even beat something that it turned evil.

"There are a few very important things that you must consider." North raised three fingers. "First, Leshy's are already powerful creatures in their own right. Second, we are fighting this Leshy in its home territory, where it has obviously been living for a very long time, this entire hillside is saturated in its power, which is why so many flowers have grown here, even when some of these species do not exist on this _continent_. The Leshy could draw on this power" North swept his hand to the right side of the road, "Look." Jack looked in the direction of Norths general arm wave, and at first couldn't see anything out of the norm.

It was only when he peered closer at what he assumed were shadows being cast by the trees that he realized what was wrong. The sun was in east, the trees to the west, they shouldn't be casting any shadows. What he has thought were shadows was in fact a long line of dead flowers and grass.

"And that is the price of drawing on that power, not that the Leshy cares too much about that now."

"What the third thing?" Jack asked.

"Oh right, yes, I thought it was obvious Jack."

"What?"

North gestured towards the remaining growth that surrounded them. "This area is amazingly conducive to nature magic. You think one regular Leshy did _this_?" He laughed "No no, that is not how Leshy's work, they find a home, in an already grown forest or grassland, and they _nurture_ further growth, they become a part of the area, and they manipulate it to protect it; covering an area like _this_ , with only one of them?" North shook his head "No, it’s far more likely that something with an incredible affinity for growth and nature either lived or still dwells here."

"That's wonderful, don't see why you think I'd get that considering I'm a _Winter_ spirit, but okay. Still another issue though, if we can’t beat a _Leshy_ , an admittedly powerful Leshy, with lots of advantages, then how are we going to beat, _whatever_ it is?"

"Okay, maybe it was four things" North said, before continuing "Unlife energy does not act like most would think it does; on a purely combative level, in terms of brute force, Unlife verses another type of magic, the greater energy will generally win; however, as you know, it’s not always about who is stronger magically, but who is _smarter_ with their power. You don't just throw your ice about, you channel it, and you focus it into useful shapes and abilities, some of which are _very_ strange." He said, recalling the strange image Jack had crafted to fool his wolves. "Unlife is not a blunt force at all, it is a sly, seductive thing, it creeps into a person’s weak spots, and it tries to rot them from the inside out."

"How does that work on a Leshy?"

"The Leshy, like many beings, likely wanted power, probably for the right reasons, but power corrupts, a phrase which I am fairly sure _stems_ from Unlife. Maybe it promised the Leshy the power to protect its forest, something that would definitely have caught it's interest; there is also the fact that Leshy's are mischievous by nature, and despite the fact that they don't mean to harm, they are more neutral creatures to all that does not affect their land. In the end, the Unlife was stronger than the Leshy's will, and it over took it. So you see Jack" North turned to the spirit, "it does not necessarily mean that the Leshy was weaker in battle, it just lacked enough strength of mind."

They rode for a few more minutes in comfortable silence, before North added absently "Also, he took us by surprise, and of course we weren't trying to kill him."

"Ah" Jack's staff lay over his shoulder as he pondered this, before speaking "So, about this unstoppable force of evil."

"Ah right, I suppose I was a bit interrupted before, wasn't I?"

"Little bit.”

"Alright, well, first of all, he's far from unstoppable" North's smile dipped, "And he wasn't always evil."

_A long time ago, there was a man named Kozmotis Pitchiner, and he was a very good man indeed. From the time he was fifteen, Kozmotis showed great promise. He had a kind, caring heart, and helped those in need. One day, however, Kozmotis discovered two very important things. The first of these things, was that the world was far stranger than he had thought. Back then, the creatures that are now in greater prevalence in the world, those which many more people now know about and believe in, were far less common. Goblins and Leshy's, Sprites and Boggarts, and so many other things that fill the forests and skies and dark places of the world, were thought to be no more than smoke and shadow. When people did not know of them, when people did not **believe,** they put themselves in danger. Kozmotis was one of the first few who attempted to put a stop to this, and he was able to accomplish much, in part because of the second thig he discovered. Kozmotis, you see, was a Light._

Jack interrupted the story. "A Light?" he asked "What’s a Light?" North smiled at him.

"The world is filled with many strange creatures Jack, some terrifying, and some wondrous. Sometimes these creatures occur naturally, and sometimes they are the result of a working of magic. But sometimes Jack, sometimes, they are both. On certain nights, nights when children are born under the light of a full moon, or sired from certain people, the moon takes an interest." Jack looked at him inquisitively. "You see Jack, the moon is far from just a simple observer of the events of the world. It takes a vested interest, and interacts when it can. On some nights, when the moon is full, and the clock strikes twelve, a special child is born, and they are called Lights."

"Why?"

"Because that's part of who they are, Lights are filled with energy, with enormous potential and power, and to those who can see this, they glow."

"Like a light?"

"Exactly."

"So, is the only way to become a Light to be born one?"

"Not exactly, interaction with certain items, being in certain areas at certain times, these things can lead to people who are worthy becoming Lights all on their own; in some cases, they can be second generation Lights, as one Light fades, they may pass their powers onto one they feel worthy, or to an object that can decide for them. Ultimately it just means they have a piece of the Moons light inside them."

"Oh" Jack thought for a few more seconds before asking his next question "So what exactly does being a Light entail?"

North spread his fingers, and multicolored sparks danced between his now gloveless hands "Magic" he said chuckling, "Well, technically, I suppose being able to do magic is the base of a Lights abilities."

Jack looked at the older man, eyes widened in interest "You, you're a Light?"

North nodded, smiling once again

"What else can they do?"

"It varies, for some, magic in general is the ability, but for others, they have specific skills of their own to go along with that."

"Like your carvings?" Jack questioned.

"Correct Jack, I am what is known as an Animator, I can bring statues and the like to life, though what I carve is usually far easier to coax into movement."

"Wow" Jack breathed, "What else can Lights do?"

North stroked his beard before answering "Again, it can vary, some Lights undergo physical changes when their powers emerge, I know a woman who has deer antlers and can talk to anything with horns."

"Well thats. . . interesting" Jack said.

"It is, isn't it?" North said laughing lightly, "I suppose however, a Lights most innate ability is" here North paused, "Longevity."

Now it was Jack's turn to quirk an eyebrow. North caught the look and waved at his face "Jack, how old do you suppose I am?" Jack merely shrugged. "The answer is seventy two." Jack opened his mouth to retort that for a person with abilities like North, that was hardly old, but he was cut off by the rest of Norths answer. "That is _three_ _hundred_ and seventy two."

The frost spirit looked at him incredulously. "What?" North asked "Is that a big shock? I guess I do look younger than I thought." Before Jack could ponder that any more, his brain caught onto something North had said a few seconds earlier.

"Wait, you said when their powers emerge, how long does it take for them to activate?"

North began to speak, "It-"

"Varies?" Jack guessed. North grinned.

"As a matter of fact, yes Jack that is exactly what it does, my abilities first activated when I was only thirteen, but for some, their powers come to them as late as thirty years. Of course" North added, "some people's powers don't activate at all, which can be either a good thing or a bad thing"

"How can your powers not activating be a good thing?"

"Simple, the only time they don't activate is when a person dies, and for some, that means a second chance." Before Jack could speak, North plowed forward. "If a Light should die, in consequence of a selfless act, and if that Lights body should be bathed in the light of a new moon, they may be reborn as something new." Jack looked at North, comprehension dawning in his eyes. "Those who are reborn can change in any number of new ways, sometimes they bear little to no resemblance to that which they were before, other times, they are closer, with only a few superficial changes to mark the tremendous shift they underwent inside."

North looked at his frosty companion, performing a closer inspection on the blue of his eyes, the paleness of his skin, and the normality of his bones. Creatures crafted from nature, creatures made in the image of a human, usually had something wrong, something different, unnatural about the way the cheeks were shaped, or the slope of a brow. Jack, for all his paleness and powers, could have passed for normal with a tan and a hood.

"So" Jack said to himself more so that North, "Is that what I am?" he looked at his companion "How can you be sure?"

"There is a cost to returning to life, one that must always be paid in one form or another" He looked closely at Jacks eyes, "The price is usually that which ties them most closely to their past life; the price Jack, is their memories." North stared at Jacks unsettled face "Jack, what is the first thing you remember?"

The widening of Jacks eyes already confirmed what he knew to be true "The moon." North nodded. "Will they ever come back?" he asked.

North gave a half nod. "With time, they most likely will, but I cannot say how long."

North looked at the boy with sadness. It was a hard thing to learn, that you had died once, even if you had returned. It was harder still to realize that you had had a past and a life ripped away from you. "So, what does that make me then, huh?" Jack asked North.

North scratched at his chin, one hand on the reins, "I don't really know" he admitted.

"Come on North" Jack said, recovering remarkably quickly from his revelation "I can't be the world’s first ice spirit, I know for a fact that I'm not."

"No you aren't, but there are many different types of beings Jack, and you I believe to be something new."

Jack grinned "Does that mean that I get to name myself then?"

The magician, as Jack was discovering, had a habit of laughing often and loudly and smiling just as much, because that was exactly what he did "I don't see why not."

"Alright then, I'm an ice person, I control snow, and my last name's Frost, there have to be plenty of different things I can be called. Hmm let’s see, Frostite?" He looked at North, who shook his head. "How about Snowlite?" North merely quirked his eyebrow, something he did nearly as often as laughing and smirking. "Fine, okay, umm, hmm, an Icidite?" North groaned. "Yeah yeah" Jack mumbled, "Everyone's a poet but me. How about-"

North cut him off "Frostling" he said, and Jack scowled, "I was literally about to say that."

North gave him a cheery smile "Perhaps, but we will never know."

The two rode on for a few minutes more in amicable silence, enjoying the scenery as they continued tracing the dark trail. "Wait" Jack said, "Weren't we in the middle of something?"

"Hmm" North said confusedly, "Oh wait yes we were."

"Thought so" Jack replied, "You know I'm still waiting to see how that story ends."

"Alright" North told him "But I warn you, it isn't happy."

"Come on old man, you can't leave me hanging, not after I actually understand what you were talking about."

"Very well" North replied "Now, where was I?"

_Kozmotis, you see, was a Light. With his magic behind him, Kozmotis set out to help the world, and he achieved much while trying to do so. He created some of the best binding spells of his time, and rediscovered many lost magical arts in his travels across the land, though some of them weren't so nice._

_He crafted one of the first true adder stones, and successfully sealed an entire lake of Vodníci. However Kozmotis wasn't just a monster hunter, he was also a great leader, and his natural ability as a Light only enhanced this. Kozmotis' power was nothing flashy, it had no big bang to it, for that he used his spells. No, Kozmotis' power was courage. His presence brought out a steel and resolve, a will power in people that they themselves didn't know they possessed. Then one day, the greatest of blessings and the worst of curses fell upon him. He fell in love._

_A woman by the name of Arynda stole Kozmotis' heart away, and for a few years, he was happy. However, his joy was not to last. On the day of his daughters eleventh birthday, Kozmotis left his village to find a rare flower known as Aurorous, a flower said to be grown under the light of a rainbow, and to hold every color of one. While Kozmotis was gone though, darkness struck. A foolish witch by the name of Belinda unleashed a race of beings known only as Shadows as revenge for Kozmotis' defeat of her wicked brother. The witch was devoured by the darkness, but the Shadows still carried out their mistresses’ only request._

_By the time Kozmotis had made it back to his village with the flower, the Shadows were already attacking. Kozmotis fought them off, but by the time that they had retreated, the damage was already done. Arynda was dead, and his daughter was gone. Kozmotis changed that day. His eyes were no longer filled with light, and his heart grew heavy with hate and anger. He spent the next several months hunting down whatever shreds of the Shadows he could. By the time he had cornered the last of them, he was a different man._

_As he pinned the last bit of darkness, Kozmotis opened the container that held the others, for the Shadows were born together and so had to die together. But before he could do so, the Shadow struck, not at Kozmotis, but at the container. It sliced through the containment Sigils, and the Shadows filled the room, swarming around him, choking him as surely as his anger had. In the whirlwind of Shadows, Kozmotis Pitchiner died, but his rage didn’t. The fury that he had bound up in his heart refused to fade. It rose, no longer shackled, and the Shadows took to it, seeping into and merging with it._

_When it was over, Kozmotis Pitchiner, the hero was gone, and Pitch Black, the Bogle stood in his place. After that, a wave of darkness stole over the land. Nightmares ran rampant as the courage and resolve that Kozmotis had encouraged was replaced by fear and crumbling wills. There didn't seem to be anyone who could, or at least **would** stop him. He was choking the life out of everything. Then one night, something happened. No one knows what exactly occurred on that night, but whatever it was, it stripped Pitch of his Shadows. The Bogle still remained, but its power had been broken, and without the strength of the Shadows, it was presumed that he had creeped away to die in some dark cave._

"Obviously, that is not what happened" North said to his friend.

"I'd say not" Jack replied wryly. "Wait, how do you know what happened?"

"It's the story everyone knows. It was told to people all over in their nightmares one night, centuries ago. Whatever happens, we must stop him before he grows too powerful again; the true power of Pitch Black has been sleeping for centuries, and we don't have time to remove the rust from ourselves if he gets it back."

"What?"

"It's just an expression" North told him.

Before either of them could speak again, a familiar roar cut through the air. The pair looked at one another, eyes wide.

"Is that?" Jack began.

"I believe so" North agreed.

North stopped the Sled-carriage, and jumped out, already drawing his swords, as Jack hopped out the other side, staff clutched in his right hand. Despite its now massive twenty foot height, The Leshy had moved with incredible silence, and had managed to get quite close to the moving carriage without making a sound. Though to be fair the duo had been distracting one another.

"That's not good, is it?" Jack more stated than asked, as he prepared to tap further into the power contained in his staff.

"No" North said, his blades glowing red once more "No it is not."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really tried to both include certain aspects of North from the books and movie, while also putting my own spin on him for this world, the same falls true for Jack, even though so far he's only been in the movie. I also tried to go more in depth on the rules of this incredibly vaguely timed world, but I hope I didn't throw too much at you guys at once.
> 
> Sidenote: Is it just me, or do people tend to forget that North isn't just a master swordsman, but that he was also the apprentice of a wizard (though I do prefer the term magician). To me, that means he should have at least some battle magic, don't you think?
> 
> Also argh I hate this chapter, I'll probably completely rewrite it at some point.


	4. Garden Growth

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Leshy returns for another battle, and a mysterious stranger arrives.

Frostborn

The Leshy wasted no time putting its new girth to work. An arm the size of a tree trunk smashed into the ground where Jack and North had stood only seconds previously. The ground shook under Jack's feet, nearly throwing him off balance before he used his staff to right himself. North decided to forgo using his swords, and instead opted for using his magic. This time however his attack was far less gentle. A sizzling bolt of red magic leaped from his hand, scorching the Leshy's enlarged shoulder. The Leshy roared in anger, turning its attention towards the magician.

However instead of merely swinging its fists at its target, vines sprung from its form, tracking and attempting to pin down the swordsman. While the Leshy's back was turned, Jack decided take action. With a swing of his staff, he sent an icy wave at the Leshy's back, frosting it over in the middle. The Leshy paid him no mind however, and continued its attempts at smashing North into a paste.

North meanwhile was dodging as fast as he could, firing off red bolts in the few moments between potential blows. The attacks however, only seemed to further enrage the Leshy, and did little real damage. Jack continued to rain down freezing attacks on the Leshy's back, but none seemed to make a dent. Every time part of the creature froze over, it shrugged off the ice even easier than it had before.

Finally, Jack decided to go for a more piercing attack. A sweep of his staff sent a large icicle shooting at the Leshy. When this attack hit however, the Leshy yelled in something other than annoyance; pain. It turned, its lumbering form twisting on itself, as its body rotated, swinging its fist at Jack. Jack weaved around the blow, and danced between the snapping vines that accompanied it.

Behind the Leshy, North had begun muttering under his breath as he cast a spell. Bubbling red energy pooled in his cupped hands. Slowly, he stretched his palms apart, and the energy moved with them, lengthening itself. With a final word, he cast the energy up. In the air, it stretched further, growing wide and taut as it formed a scarlet net. The net came crashing down on the Leshy, wrapping around it, and everywhere it touched, the Leshy charred. Foul vapors erupted from the Leshy, as the rotten fluids inside it ignited, filling the air with the smell of decay.

With a furious cry, the Leshy turned, and turned again, its eyes squeezed tight, its mind blanketed in pain and rage. Before the net could further harm the Leshy however, something erupted from inside it. An oozing, black substance poured over the net, snuffing out the flames.

"Would that be . . .?" Jack trailed off.

"Unlife, yes." North confirmed as his eyes narrowed. The Leshy ceased howling, and the Unlife cascaded down it, repairing its wounds and further increasing its size, the rotted vines swelling.

"Oh, that's bad, isn't it?"

"Yes, yes it is." The Unlife sank back into the Leshy, leaving its skin unmarked, and its size increased by another five feet. North's hands began to crackle with energy once more, and Jack prepared to conjure an even larger icicle, even if it meant depleting his staff’s reserves. Before he could even begin to call on the energy however, the Leshy struck. The Unlife must have enhanced its speed as well, because the attack came far faster than any previously. The fist smashed into Jacks body, lifting him off his feet and throwing him backwards.

The world erupted into white for a moment, and when his vision returned, bleary as it was, he realized he was on the ground, and his mouth tasted of cold copper and a bitter winter breeze. His staff was a good fifteen yards away, and there was a strange high pitched whine that dulled all other sounds. Distantly he thought he heard North calling his name, but his thoughts were still too muddled to process that. All he wanted to do was close his eyes. There was no beating the Leshy, it was too strong, and he was too weak outside the Dell; maybe he would just lay here, feeling the morning dew, and the cool ground. His thoughts began to drift.

_So quiet here, just the dew and the ground, the nice cool ground_

_The dew_

_and cool ground_

_dew_

_cool_

_dew cool_

Jacks eyes snapped open, his thoughts flowing again. The ground was cool under his head, and the grass was covered in dew. If there was dew, and the ground was cold, then that could only mean one thing.

"Water" he mumbled, pulling himself up. The buzz faded away, and his sight gained clarity. North was still fighting the Leshy, this time by firing small orange bolts that seemed to make parts of the Leshy shrivel; the creatures back was turned to him. Jack stood, and when he was settled on his own two feet, he closed his eyes, and concentrated. _Can’t use the staff, I need to save that for later, so it looks like this is all me then_.

Jack expanded his senses, reaching out. There was no easy comfort of snow and ice here, no chill in the air to make him feel secure. Still, the environment wasn't totally foreign. He pushed past the plants skin, and peered inside. There, there was something familiar, flowing all around him. He looked closer, not at the plants, but the air itself. It existed in even smaller amounts, but it was there, and he could use it.

Jacks hands curled, and he brought his arms closer to his chest. As he did so, the water came. Small freezing droplets formed in the air, drifting towards him. The plants closest to him froze from the inside, before shattering, first three feet, then five, until Jack had ten foot circle of dead plants around him and snow lifting from the shells to float towards him. "All it takes to make snow" he said as his eyes opened "Is water, and all it takes to make ice, is the cold." The Leshy turned towards Jack as the temperature dropped. "Lucky for me" Jack said, as the Leshy charged, "I've got both." The snow and droplets had coalesced into a shimming wall of ice and snow, and with a great push, Jack sent it hurtling at the Leshy.

The cold from this burst was far more severe than any previous. The Leshy's charge faltered as the ice blasted into it, embedding itself into its vine-like flesh as parts of its chest froze solid. The Leshy collapsed to one knee, but this time, the vines did not slither over the damaged area, leaving it shriveled and dead. Instead of emitting yet another cry, the Leshy gazed at Jack with its dark eyes, a fury the likes of which it had never known now boiling inside it.

Slowly, the black energy began to dribble out of the Leshy, leaking from its eyes, and whatever facsimile for ears it possessed. It slithered over its body, putrid and festering, creating a stench maggots would flee from, as it once more grew. Arms swelled, legs doubled in height and width, and the gaping maw of its mouth was now filled with narrow, black thorns, dripping with a putrid green venom.

"How many times is it going to do that?" Jack wondered aloud as he began making a hasty retreat backward, calling his staff to his hand as he did so.

"I . . . have no idea" North replied honestly, blades back in their scabbards as his hands began to shine with energy. The Leshy's sudden growth finally came to an end, and the corrupted creature towered over the two.

"Should we maybe run?" Jack asked.

"No point, he would catch us before we got very far."

"So we fight?"

"Yes, we fight." And so saying North let the energy in his hand fly. It arced upward through the air, turning from a shimmering blue to a venomous looking purple. As it began its downward arc, the Leshy raised one of its gargantuan hands to block it. As the spell came down on the Leshy's hand, it splashed like a liquid, and everywhere the purple light touched, the Leshy's skin steamed and burned. Jack glanced at his friend "Ardariyan Acid Spell" he answered simply. Jack shrugged, and dove backwards as the Leshy's foot came down on where he had been standing previously.

Tumbling backwards with a grace no human could have, his hand slid over the slick grass, and he wrenched more water from it and the ground, coming back up on his feet, he used his momentum to fling his hand up and the handful of ice shards sprayed through the air, embedding themselves in the Leshy's moldering flesh. This however, did nothing to inconvenience the forest protector; in fact, so minute was the damage, it completely ignored him, in favor of raising more thorny vines from the ground to strike at North.

As Jack watched, the old man pulled yet another spell out of his seemingly inexhaustible bag of tricks. The writhing vines struck out at North, aiming to bind and puncture with their deadly thorns. Instead, they passed right through the large mans form. From behind the Leshy, a cobalt blast erupted, crashing into its unprotected form. Instead of dissipating as the others had, this blast soaked into the vines, and as it did so, the Leshy's movements slowed.

"What was that?" Jack questioned, sidling up to his partner.

"A Gorgonian paralysis spell, unfortunately, I don't think it works as efficiently on plants."

"Why?"

"If it did, that Leshy would be turning to stone by now."

"What!"

"Relax, I would come back later and fix, and before you ask, no he wouldn't be conscious during that time."

"Oh, well, okay then."

"Good, but it doesn't matter now, seeing as how he's already getting better." While their brief conversation has been going on, the Leshy had indeed be working on fixing itself. All around them, thin tendrils of green energy flowed toward it, turning black the instant they touched its form. When the flow stopped, the Leshy hadn't grown in size, but rather seemed newly invigorated.

"That's just getting annoying" Jack complained, preparing to rip more water from the grass and ground if necessary before he realized that the former was no longer an option. While he had been observing the Leshy's incredibly fast recovery, the grass around them in a wide radius had be reduced to a few decaying islands of yellow in a sea of black.

It seemed instead of attacking with its fists, the Leshy was instead opting for a more plant based approach again, as vicious black tendrils formally recognized as vines erupted from the ground all around them. Huge, bloated, and dripping a poisonous looking purple substance, the vines rose in the air, waiting for their master’s command like trained snakes. North at last redrew his swords, and Jack prepared to tap even further into his staff’s precious supply of energy. Both groups were still for a few, quiet seconds. Then the vines struck.

But not the ones they were expecting.

From the decayed ground sprung the new vines. Unlike the Leshy's, these vines were smaller, but strong, vibrant with life. They coiled around the Leshy's corrupted vines, and where they touched, they glowed green, emanating energy that flowed through the larger vines, turning black to green, and causing them to shrink. Even more vines gripped the Leshy, lapping and overlapping, a carpet of green growth, binding blackened arms and holding the creature still.

 

From behind Jack, a figure shot forward, and all the frost spirit caught sight of was a green blur. Said blur neared the Leshy, but instead of stopping, leaped into the air. Upon impact with the chest of the Leshy, the figure kicked off, and the already bound creature toppled over. As soon as the Leshy's back met the ground, the figure was once more on top of it, even more vines growing up and over any part of the Leshy that could make the slightest of movements.

"Sorry mate, but this is gonna hurt.” A voice, deep, and definitely male, emanated from the figure, who without further ado slapped his palms against the Leshy's chest. Green light exploded from the figure hands, rippling over the Leshy's body. Like the energy from the vines before, this power soaked into the Leshy, who immediately began to roar in pain, though the vines held him fast. As the energy continued pouring into it, the Leshy began to shrink. The black faded from its body, and the foul stench it emitted dispersed. Thorns fell off, poison dripped away, and at the end, a swath of black energy rose from the Leshy's chest and was viciously crushed by the green.

The Leshy, body now normal and face once again blooming with a vine like beard, slumped into unconsciousness; then the figure rounded on Jack and North. With a few steps, the figure closed the distance between them, and Jack began looking him over. He was tall, very much so, and clad in a dark green coat, with a hood pulled around his face. His arms looked powerful, but not bulky, and his legs were likely the same. His skin was light, though not as pale as Jack’s, and was covered in dark, swirling markings, and he had two oddly shaped holsters at his side, their form reminiscent of a sharply curved capital l, or a wide sideways v.

"So, just what're you doin' here?" The man asked. The accent was there, there was no denying that, but there was also zero chance of Jack placing it.

"Our apologies, we hope we didn't cause any damage to the landscape, we are merely passing through."

"Passing through my foot, yer huntin' fer Pitch, aren't ya?"

North appraised the man. While unexpected, another ally would be useful, especially one capable of working directly against the Unlife.

"Indeed we are, am I correct in guessing that you are as well?"

"True enough, he took someone from my village, a little girl named Irida."

"Irida?" Jack asked, drawing the tall mans attention.

"Yeah, Irida, short for Iridaceae, she didn't like the length. Speaking of names, just who're you?"

"My name is Nicholas St. North, but please, just call me North."

"And I'm Jack Frost."

"Real warm names you got there." the stranger said wryly.

"So mister mysterious, do _you_ have a name?"

"The names Aster."

"Last name?" Jack prodded.

"None o'yer business."

"Aster" North intervened "I was wondering, seeing as how we are all pursuing the same target, maybe we could collaborate, join our forces?"

"You wanna team up." Aster stated rather than asked.

"Exactly."

"Sorry mate, no go, I work alone."

"But-" North began, but Aster interrupted him.

"Look, I appreciate you guys holdin' off the Leshy till I could get here, but to be frank, even with that Slediage of yours, you're going to be too slow. I need to catch up to Pitch before he's gets too far away for me to track, I'm surprised he's even traveling instead of going. . .where. . . he needs . . . to go. . ." Aster trailed off.

"Uhh, you okay there pal?"

"Why _is_ Pitch traveling, I mean if he's strong enough to make his move then you'd think he'd be strong enough to. . ." Aster's eyes widened, and a grin stretched across his face.

"Hoo hoo, this is great." Aster said as he threw his head back and laughed. The green hood fell back, and Jack could see that the man’s eyes were a piercing green, and his face was as tan as his arms. His hair color was odd though. Some bizarre shade of light steel blue. "Don't you see?" Aster looked at North and Jack. "Pitch isn't out and about now because he's strong enough, he's make trouble because he's too _weak._ "

A look of realization dawned on Norths face "Of course, no wonder he's traveling so slowly, he probably _can't_ move like he did before."

"Whatever happened to him all those centuries ago must've really knocked him for a loop, he's making his last act."

"What? What's going on? Why is everyone making 'aha' faces" Jack asked emphatically.

"Jack, we stand a much better chance of beating and capturing him now, he can't pull any of his escape tricks."

"Why?"

"Cause he's dying." That threw Jack for a loop. Sure he _knew_ about death, but for the entirety of his existence in the Dell, the only thing that had died were pets; adding to that of course was that as far as he could tell, Jack himself hadn't physically aged in the past decade, so death seemed something of an alien concept.

"This could explain the rampant Unlife energy." North mused "If Pitch _is_ dying, then his power could literally be _bleeding_ out."

"I thought the energy spread was a little chaotic" Aster agreed, before shaking his head "Anyway, sorry, but I still can't join you, now that I know he's dying, I can push myself harder without worrying about burnin' out before I get to him. Without another word, Aster turned on his heel, which Jack noted that, like himself, was lacking in shoes.

"What if he's not alone?" Jack posed, and Aster stopped in his tracks. "He already turned a Leshy, and he must know _someone's_ going to come after him, odds are, he's going to hav at least temporary help."

"Jack that was oddly well thought out." North said, and Jack turned to him with a grin.

"Come on North, just because I'm a mischievous, talented, handsome-"

"Get to the point." Aster said.

"Right, anyway, just because I'm all of those things and more, doesn't mean I can't be smart or clever when I want to be, I got your wolves didn't I?"

"Fair enough" North turned towards Aster "So Aster, Jack could be right, shouldn't you have some help of your own?" The tall man looked contemplative "Not to mention that if you do travel with us, you will not be as tired when you face Pitch than you would be if you pushed yourself to catch up on foot." Aster considered it for another few moments before he sighed.

"Alright, alright, but you better not slow me down."

"I wouldn’t dream of it." North said with a grin.

"Lemme just take care of this" Aster waved at the dead scenery "Real quick." Jack watched his newest team mate close his eyes and focus. A faint green aura sprang up around him, and thrummed with power. Power to make life anew, to breathe energy into dead earth and call forth the green. Power to make the forests heave and the grasslands bend beneath his feet. Then he took that power, pulled it close and . . . tapped his foot on the ground.

Immediately, a wave of green spread from Asters foot, expanding rapidly to cover the dead and twisted life. An emerald carpet sprang from the dead husks, and red and black plants were cured and made brighter than ever as the remnants of Unlife were flushed from their systems and destroyed by the same verdant wave. All this took place in a second.

"Alright" Aster turned to Jack and North, the former’s mouth trying desperately to touch the new grass, and the latter merely quirk his eyebrow.

"What?" Aster asked with a grin, though he chuckled as he did so. "Everyone's gotta specialty." Hopping into the sleigh, he took a seat, and Jack quickly joined him, and North once more took the reins. Without a single signal, the reindeer decided to start galloping again, and the landscape was once more reduced to variously colored blurs. "So Aster" North called to his newest passenger, his tone serious.

"Yeah" Aster's brow furrowed.

"Slediage?"

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Irida short for Iridaceae which is the family the Crocus flower is in, which is the type of flower that sprung up after one of Bunny's holes was used in the film. Since I gave Jack Jamie and Sophie I figured I'd need something cleverish for Bunny's kids name.
> 
> This is what I imagine this version of Bunnymund looks like, in terms of hair, body type, and skin, though he has more markings, and different clothes. Also he doesn't have the mark on his forehead. 
> 
> http://pre10.deviantart.net/90c1/th/pre/i/2014/083/0/d/bunnymund_human_version_by_awesomeartist15-d7bg1na.jpg
> 
> This artwork is by Sour-shock


	5. I Told You So

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Another battle against Pitches minions and a surprise.

Frostborn

It was near sunset when they struck. The sky had turned into a wildfire of colors, and the trees had grown dark with shadows and malice. Aster had pulled out a book that seemed to be half botanical fact and half legend, at least, that's what it seemed like from what Jack managed to see. North, having absolute faith in his reindeer, had produced a cloth bag and a small hunk of wood and was currently carving something long and winding, which Jack assumed to be a snake. Meanwhile Jack himself had spent the last two hours focusing on his pool of energy. He had used a fair bit of his own power earlier, but he seemed to be recovering and he didn't seem to be losing too much power after several hours out of the Dell.

This was rather odd in fact, but he was hesitant to ask North anything about his possibly totally new physiology. Fear had never held much of a hold on Jack though, and he was about to ask his companion about it when three shadows broke from the tree line, and headed for the group. Their speed was far too great for any mortal creature to do anything. When the beasts struck, the three riders leaped from the slediage, the reindeer stopping in an instant in defiance of momentum. Landing on his heels after executing a perfect front flip, Jack realized he had left his staff behind.

Before he could make a gesture to summon it however, he had to roll to the side to avoid a swipe that would surely have taken off his head. In the fading light, the creatures black fur blended in to such a degree that it was difficult to make much out about them even at such a close distance. Five inch claws slid back into their sheaths, and the creature went from quadrupedal to being a biped.

Its mouth fell open in a twisted facsimile of a smile, razor teeth covered in dripping saliva. A harsh, hacking sound erupted from the creature and it took Jack a moment to realize it was speaking "Get get get" it said, and a high-pitched cackle emanated from its throat "You you you."

"North" Jack called to his companion who had his swords drawn and was parrying another of the creatures claws "What have we got here?" Then to his other companion he yelled "I told you so." Jack couldn't be sure, but he could almost _feel_ Aster roll his eyes.

The old man opened his mouth to reply, but whatever he was going to say became a phrase in a forgotten language that erected a shimmering blue barrier that the creature's claws glanced off of.

It was Aster who answered him "Wendigo's" the pale man said, darting around the creature with a speed that Jack wished he possessed. In the blink of an eye, Aster's palm slammed into the creature's side, and it yelped. "Whatever you do, don't get scratched, their claws have a nasty poison." Aster's wendigo turned and snapped at him with its enormous jaws, but its teeth came down on empty space.

Jack didn't see what happened after that, because his own wendigo had stopped waiting. Flipping backward he allowed himself to hit the ground instead of landing on his feet, and the wendigo leaped over him. Rolling to the side to avoid a pounce, Jack somersaulted backwards onto his feet. The beast wasted no time and lunged for him again, and Jack leaped into the air, using its form as a spring board before rolling and landing in a crouch. Cold curled around his hands, freezing the water in the grass, and he moved it into a spike. The wendigo leaped.

**_FB_ **

North's blades buzzed as they lit with a red light that would have turned hardened steel to slag. The blades whistled as they descended towards the Wendigo's head, ready to lop it off. Murky black claws rose to meet it, and the swords, edges burning, glanced off. Gaping jaws tried to clamp down on the magicians shoulder, but another blue shield popped into place. A swipe of his left sword sent a splatter of sticky black blood flying into the air, highlighted by the dying light. The wendigo retreated, placing more weight on its right side, and it snarled at North viciously. Even as he was watching however, he saw the blood on the wendigo dry and the skin knit together.

Darting forward, North slashed again, nicking it on its right side. The wendigo scrambled back, but North continued to rain blows down on it, creating a new wound for every one that closed. The wendigo fell back on its hind legs, and North moved in for the kill, but as his blade came down, the creature leaped forward, crashing into him. North's swords flew from his hands, and the wendigo pressed down on him. Pushing against the beast's bulk, he heaved, but its weight was too great. His jacket had caught its claws, but the creature's teeth were snapping at his head, barely held back by his hands at its neck. "Get _off_ me" he hissed, and the wendigo let loose a high cackle. "No no no no no" it said, and resumed trying to bite is head off.

“I said get off" the man growled, and then, between gritted teeth, " _Venti._ " A gust of wind exploded from North, pushing the wendigo up into the air. It turned in the air, and its body became more bipedal, and when it came back to the ground it landed on two legs, towering over North even more. North swept his hands through the air, and his swords rose. The wendigo hunched over and then it struck.

**_FB_ **

Aster darted around the wendigo, ducking and weaving. _I've got to save my energy for Pitch_ he thought _so I can't do anything too big here_. Springing away from another swipe of the beast's claws, he took a second to think, and then he turned and shot towards the woods. Behind him, Aster could hear the wendigo give chase and he chuckled. To any normal person, the woods at night would present more of a hindrance than a boon when running from a wendigo, especially at night. Aster though, was far from normal. With peerless sight, he moved through the trees, leaping over roots and vines that would've entangled and tripped anyone else.

Behind him, he could hear the wendigo occasionally stumbling into something or other, but it seemed to be keeping a fairly solid pace. Aster smirked, and rounded a great oak, and kicked himself up from the ground and onto the lowest hanging branch. Below, the wendigo stopped and looked around. Aster's scent was so interwoven with the forest that its chances of finding him by smell were slim at best. The beast turned around, searching for a scent trail of some kind, and found none. Aster flicked open a pouch and pulled out a slender piece of carved and curved wood. Standing, he allowed his body's weight to overtake his balance, and let gravity do the rest. He fell. In total silence, Aster descended towards the wendigo, chest toward the ground, and in the second before he was going to connect, he flipped, and his right foot's heel connected with the back of the wendigo's head. Flipping backward, Aster flung the piece of wood at the reeling creature, and caught it between the eyes. The wendigo slumped on its front paws, and with a twitch of his finger, Aster brought his weapon back to him. While the creature tried to stand, Aster darted forward and leaped over it, running back toward the clearing.

The wendigo stumbled to its feet and began its chase again, stumbling even more. Aster burst into the clearing, the wendigo not far behind him, and saw North's wendigo flying backwards through the air, and heard the movement of Jack's as it scrambled across the grass. Then a blue light flashed through the clearing, and without thinking he jumped.

**_FB_ **

The blades missed the wendigo's head, but not the creature entirely. Twin scrapes decorated the wendigo's sides, and North grinned as the beast snarled. North sent the two blades soaring at the beast again, but this time it caught one of them in between its great teeth. Flinging the blade away, the Wendigo charged again before North could re-summon it.

**_FB_ **

Jack's spike rose up to block the wendigo's claws, and shattered. Flipping backwards, he avoided the claws, if only barely. Taking the broken spike's pieces in a mental grasp, Jack shattered them into powder and flung it into the wendigo's eyes and refroze it. As the beast tried to break the ice, Jack wrenched more frozen water from the grass. When the wendigo managed to open its eyes, it found Jack standing farther away, a large ball of ice in his hands and long stretch of dead grass leading toward him. The wendigo charged, ready to cut through the ice to the boy behind it.

Jack launched the ball.

The wendigo raised its claws to slice through the ball, but before it could, the ball exploded. Instead of merely turning into a blinding powder however, the ice twisted into thick connected snowflakes, wrapping around the beast in coils, and continued on their way, dragging it backwards. When the flakes connected with a tree they bit down and shackled to it. The wendigo roared in fury, and its muscles strained against the ice, which began to crack. Jack ran toward it, feet flying over the grass, which died as he passed over it, filling the air behind him with powder that was rapidly condensing into something sharp.

Straining, the wendigo broke free, but instead of running forward, it retreated, turning away from the icy boy. Jack readied the halfway shaped ice into a spray of shards and prepared to launch them at the beast, but before he could he saw something in the corner of his eye, North had been knocked over by his wendigo, and the beast was preparing for a fatal blow. Jack twisted the ice into a functional if somewhat fragile spear and turned on his heel, mentally hurling it towards his ally's adversary. The spear shattered on the wendigo's claws, but the force was enough to stagger it for a second, allowing North to recover.

Turning toward his own foe, Jack found the Wendigo eyeing him warily. _Should I summon my staff?_ He thought to himself, before dismissing the idea. _No, I'll probably need all the power I can get later_. Pushing the cold into the ground, Jack dredged up more snow, and sent it spiraling in a circle around him. The wendigo backed up even more. _Okay Jack, that might buy you a little time, now get to work_. Taking a breath, Jack closed his eyes, focusing on keeping the ring of snow circling him. _Focus, reach deep, find it, find the Cold._ Jack's thoughts turned inward, searching for that place inside him that was colder than the rest. The world grew quiet, and the snow ring grew sluggish. Suddenly Jack's hands slammed together, palm against palm, and he opened his eyes.

With care Jack parted his palms, and floating there, was a bright blue spark. The snow ring fell, and the wendigo approached him warily. Jack focused on the spark, and willed his magic toward it and it grew. Shining brighter and brighter, the spark inflated, turning from a pinprick to a shimmering blue ball. The wendigo began backing up, and Jack smirked at it and it turned and ran. North had seemingly taken care of his own wendigo, as it was now flying through the air toward Jack's own wendigo. With a grin. Jack flung the orb through the air. As it left his hands, Aster burst into the clearing, and Jack's eye's widened in shock. The third wendigo appeared behind him, and it seemed like all three wendigo's and the man would be caught in the blast. And then Aster kicked the ground and flew through the air.

The orb exploded.

In an instant that portion of the clearing went from dark greens and blacks to shining crystalline blues and whites that illuminated the area. Jack slumped to one knee, and after a few seconds, two pairs of hands helped him to his feet.

"Well, I guess frostbite here has a bit more bite than I thought." Aster said to North. “Killed an awful lot of plants doing it, but I’ll let it slide.”

"Indeed, there are a few questions that I'd like to ask him, but that can wait until later, until then, I think it is time we rest."

"Rest? What're you talking about? We have to catch up to Pitch as soon as possible, we don't have time for rest!"

"Relax Aster, the way that we will be resting will ensure that we won't lose too much time, besides, Jack is unused to being outside of the Dell, he is exhausted, and even I am tired."

Aster grumbled under his breath. "Alright fine, but this better not take too long."

North chuckled "I promise my friend, this will not take long at all. Now then, help me get Jack into the box."

"I can speak for myself" Jack said sluggishly "And what about them?" he asked, gesturing toward the frozen wendigo's.

"They won't bothering anyone anymore, you did a good job Jack."

"A-are they dead?"

"Most likely, if not they will die soon; but Jack you should not worry, wendigo's are creatures of darkness, fallen men and women, who offered up themselves for power. They have committed untold atrocities, and they will follow whoever feeds them best. You did a good thing."

"O-okay" Jack said tiredly, before slumping into unconsciousness.

The duo finished carrying their unconscious companion to the Slediage.

"I don't see how a box is going to help Frostbite here rest up, I can't imagine this thing being too comfortable." Aster said as they climbed the short steps that lead to the box.

North chuckled, and grabbed Jack's staff before opening the doorway and allowing Aster inside.

"Oh" the tan man said "That's how."

**_FB_ **

When Jack opened his eyes, the world had gone white. Sitting up quickly, he clutched at his head.

"Oww, sit up slower next time Frost." He muttered to himself. Sitting up, Jack gazed around and found himself in a rather strange area. Everything was covered in rich snowy powder, but at the same time, Jack could tell it wasn't natural snow. With a sense that was not sight, sound, taste, touch, or smell, he could feel the faint tinge of magic on it. The strange snow wasn't the weirdest thing around him however. No that prize would have to go to the doorway.

It was large, tall and wide, and it wasn't attached to anything. The door set into the frame had an etching of a snowflake on it, and was made of a dark wood. Jack stood and walked up to the peculiar sight. The wood seemed smooth and the back of the door was blank. It was, for all intents and purposes, just a door and its frame standing in the middle of nowhere.

The blank field that surrounded Jack seemed to go on forever, but the frost spirit soon found that that was not the case. After sliding across the snow for a fair bit, he noticed a shape in the distance. Speeding towards it, Jack found that the shape was the door.

"Okay, this is too weird, maybe I'm dreaming." He muttered aloud. Jack set out at different angles, sliding over the ice at ever increasing speeds.

Every time he wound up back at the door.

"I get the feeling that I should open you, don't ask me why." He said to the door. "Oh well, here goes everything." And so saying he reached towards the door knob, turned it and jerked it open.

"North, Frostbite's up." A gruff familiar voice said, and Aster's head popped into the doorway from the side. Jack didn't really notice him, he was too distracted by the room on the other side of the door. Checking the back of the door, which still had nothing, Jack looked back through the doorway, and raised an eyebrow.

"Well this is new."

"I know." Aster agreed "So, are you gonna come in or what?"

Jack nodded and stepped through the doorway and looked around. Behind him he heard Aster close the door, but again he didn't pay any attention, too distracted by what he saw. The room he was in now was wide, circular, and _very_ tall. The floor seemed to be dual part tile and wood flooring, and in a grate on the opposite side of the room was a roaring fire.

A winding spiral staircase rose up to the top of the massive room, tapering off at points to allow a person to step out onto a certain floor. Some walls had no doors but were instead covered in massive panels of glass. The area where Jack was now seemed to be reminiscent of a living room, with chairs and couches scattered about. Around the edges were doors, each inscribed with a particular symbol. Glancing back, Jack confirmed that yes, the door he stepped through had a snowflake engraved on it.

"So frostbite, what do ya think?"

"I think that North had _way_ too much time on his hands. Where are we anyway?"

Aster smirked "I'll show ya." The tan man turned strode his way over to a door with an open door etched into the center of it. Aster waited by the door patiently, and when Jack caught up he gestured to it.

"Go on, open it." Aster said with a grin.

Jack eyed his companion warily "What's going to happen?"

"Just open the door Frostbite." Jack continued to gaze at him distrustfully but eventually his curiosity outweighed his caution. With care Jack grabbed the knob and opened the door. There were trees beyond it, familiar looking trees, familiar mostly because they were covered in ice. Jack poked his head out the door, and followed it quickly with his body.

"But if those are the trees, then this is-" He turned back and looked at the doorway he had come out off. It was still there, waiting innocuously, and Aster was grinning at him still.

"Little tricky to wrap your mind around, isn’t it?"

"It’s bigger on the inside." Jack said, dashing back in, looking around, and then dashing back out.

"Yes, it is." A booming voice said, as Jack dashed back in.

"It’s _bigger_ on the _inside_." Jack repeated.

"Right." Aster replied.

Jack ran back outside, and circled the sled, hopping on top of the box after approaching it from every angle. Leaning down, Jack tried to peer in through the glass and saw nothing. Jumping back down, he walked back in "It’s bigger on the inside." He finished lamely.

"Yes, it is, and now that you are awake, we can get going again." North said, walking past Jack and readying his reindeer.

"Wait how long have I been asleep?"

"Oh, about eight hours." Aster said casually.

"What!" We have to go, who knows how far away Pitch is by now?"

North chuckled "Relax Jack, is fine, see-" But Jack cut him off.

"How is it alright? We've lost _eight hours_ , there's no telling what might have happened.

"Oi, Frostbite, calm down."

"I will not calm down, this is-"

"Look, Frosty, simmer down, you might start melting if you don't, besides I was just messin with ya."

"Messing with me? You mean I haven't been out for eight hours?"

"No you have" Aster raised a palm to forestall Jack's rant "But only about five minutes have passed."

Jack's brain took a few seconds to process that. "Wait, what?"

"It’s my box Jack, time and space are much more malleable inside, you have been sleeping for eight hours inside, but outside only five minutes have passed."

"That's . . . really useful."

"Innit?" Bunny said.

"Now then, we can get going again, now that you're up."

Jack moved to exit the room again, but North held up a hand.

"Ah ah Jack, you are not sitting in sleigh this time."

"But why?"

"Because you need to train."

"What, no I don't, did you see that?" he gestured to the frozen wendigos.

"Yes, and while that is good, you collapsed right after, you need more training" North insisted.

"He's right Frosty."

Jack was silent for a few seconds "So you're saying that I'm not strong enough yet."

"Yes" North said bluntly.

"But because of your box-"

"You can get much more training done while we travel, especially if I alter the spell in the ice room."

"Right" Jack nodded "I'll get right on it." Jack turned to go into the box, but North's hand fell on his shoulder.

Jack raised an eyebrow to his friend "Not so fast Jack" North gestured to the reindeer and Aster "I have readied the reindeer and taught Aster enough that he can drive by himself for a while."

Jack opened his mouth to pose a question but North cut him off "What is the point in having you train, if you have no one to train with?" The old man said with a smile.

Jack's mouth twisted into a smile.

"Alright old man, but you know that I won't hold back, right?"

North grinned and laughed "Neither will I."


	6. Training Time

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After the fight with the Wendigos it becomes obvious that Jack needs some training. North knows just what to do.

Frostborn

Rest, as Jack was soon to discover, was going to be a tricky thing inside of the cold room. Not because of the strange slowing of time, no, that wasn't really something he could feel at all. It was going to be tricky because every time he thought about trying to get some sleep, North nearly lopped off his head.

After a long day (or according to North, since he had doubled the effects for their training, about two and a half minutes on the outside for sixteen hours inside) Jack was ready to nod off and get some rest.

North, having decided that the cold room would be Jack's domain while they traveled, had left the Frostling to rest, promising that he would return later. Jack found out that "later" meant about five minutes, because just after he had coaxed the snow in the room into something that had the vague shape of a bed and flopped into it, he heard the whistling of swords. Instinct, and the latter's lack of intent were all that spared Jack from finding out what hairstyles were available to those without hair, or indeed, heads.

Rolling to his feet, Jack shot the older man a glare "North, what are you doing?"

The old man frowned slightly "Make a weapon" he demanded, eyes narrowed.

"What? Why?" The only response he received was another swipe of the blades, this time more serious.

"Make a weapon" North said again, growling as his hands tightened around his sword.

"All right all right, just calm down" Jack agreed, trying to placate his apparently disturbed friend. Holding out a hand, Jack concentrated his will and called the snowflakes towards him. The air whistled again, and Jack threw himself into a backwards tumble.

"What?" He demanded angrily "I'm doing what you asked."

"It’s taking too long, Pitch would have killed you by now." His friend told him, eyes glittering dangerously.

"Well what do you want me to do about it?" Jack asked.

"Get faster" the Magician said simply.

"And you intend to make me faster at it by randomly trying to chop my head off?"

"And more things besides; you are strong Jack, don't get me wrong, and you are agile, but your crafting is time consuming and your weapons and the like are too fragile for how long you have to focus to create them."

"So is that what we're going to be doing then? Working on my speed and quality?"

"Of course not, I didn't test all your skills today for nothing, we will be improving everything."

"Everything?"

"Everything."

**_FB_ **

As one might imagine working on "Everything" can be tiring. After the initial attack, Jack had to constantly be on guard, he never knew when the older man would attack. Of course it was more than the deprivation of mostly unneeded sleep that got to him. Every day was filled to the brim with training, either on making his constructs, or working on his speed and agility, or exploring the stranger aspects of his magic or anything else the mad magician could think of. North left no stone unturned and no pain untaken. For all the harshness of the regimen though, the results showed.

In the beginning, to craft anything truly solid that would last because of craftsmanship and not sheer bulk, Jack had required thirty seconds or more, depending on its complexity. After a week's worth of training, he had cut that down to fifteen. After a second week’s worth of training, he had it down to eight. Simple things like snow daggers that wouldn't break upon impact with anything stronger than the source material could be made in two seconds. More complex things like the spear he had made to distract North's Wendigo could be crafted in nine seconds, and were much more solid. Granted, the truly complex things, like Jack's perfectly made staff took more time, but even then Jack had managed to cut the time needed to make a replica of his weapon down to twenty seconds.

North's attacks would come at random times, sometimes when Jack was going to sleep or waking up, sometimes when he was in the middle of practicing a particular maneuver or skill. North's reasoning behind it was that Jack would likely be surprised, and wouldn't have the luxury of having a perfectly calm environment in which to focus. To the Frostling's chagrin, he was right. When North really surprised Jack, the shock could add another ten seconds to his crafting time, which, he assured Jack, was more than long enough to be fatal.

In regards to the testing of the quality of Jack's creations, North had a simple test, he would try to break them with his swords.

While Jack was holding them.

Initially, he had cut through everything that Jack had created like it wasn't even there. The only seeming exception to this was when North had managed to coax Jack into using his staff, which had born the full force of North's blows without breaking, cracking, or nicking, though the same couldn't be said for Jack's arms. After that, the bare minimum of blows Jack's creations had to be able to withstand was two slices from his blades. So far, everything had met his standards, so he moved the requirements up to four.

Of course, quality and speed weren't the only things that Jack had to work on. Several hours each day were dedicated to increasing Jack's speed, agility, and balance. Naturally light on his feet, Jack had the latter down to an art. North made him practice it regardless, until the frost spirit could have balanced on the tip of an icicle.

He would know, he checked.

For agility, despite his already advanced skills, North had a different plan. The old man shot increasingly large and fast and numerous balls of mystic energy at Jack; they weren't fatal, but they were painful. The technique was effective though, and by the end Jack could do more then dance around, under, over, and in between attacks, he could perform a Waltz.

In terms of speed however, Jack was found to be lacking. When deprived of snow or ice to slide on, Jack was only marginally faster than someone his apparent age was expected to be. So every day North made him run. He ran far some days, and he ran fast others. On days that were doomed to be awful all throughout, North made him run fast _and_ far. Not satisfied with only increasing Jack's natural speed, North moved to working on his enhanced speed.

As one might suspect, Jack moved faster on ice then he did on snow, so the first thing North worked on in regards to that was getting Jack to turn his snow slides into ice slides. After that, he made him revert to snow slides, and made him practice on sliding on them until he could go as fast as he did on ice slides. Then he made him practice ice sliding again, which due to his new skill in that area, led to a few spectacular crashes. Thankfully there were plenty of snowdrifts around.

Practicing Jack's more bizarre capabilities was not something they did much. North was convinced that Jack was an entirely new species, or else one that had long been extinct. Since the more abstract applications of his abilities weren't something they could replicate or practice with ease, North worked on Jack's duplicates. After showing his friend and tormentor how he created his icy illusions, North made him practice it for a half an hour a day. By the end of the third week, the ice mirrors could have a copy of Jack traced onto them in under ten seconds.

Throughout the entirety of the training, Jack found himself checking his energy, and over time he noticed a strange, but pleasant change. One day, as the two were enjoying a meal in the main area, rather than the cold room, Jack broached the topic.

"So North, I have a question."

"Hmm, what is it?" The old man asked kindly.

"It's just, these past few weeks, I've felt my magic, I don't know, I guess the word that fits it best is _growing_."

North gave his friend a quizzical look "Yes, what about it?"

"Well I mean, is it supposed to do that?"

"Of course Jack, you have been using your power more often, and so your available energy will increase, hasn't this happened to you before?"

"Well no, not really, I've never really felt my power grow before –except during ice storms, but that goes away after the storm ends; this is sticking around."

"Hmm, that is interesting, from what you're telling me, you've never felt your power increase in a permanent sense, which would mean that you've had the same power level since you were created." North paused "Well that certainly is impressive, you had quite a bit of power for a newly reborn Light."

"But why is it happening now?"

North stroked his beard, staring at nothing for a moment or two, then, his eyes snapped wide, and he grinned "Aha, I think I’ve got it."

"What?" Jack asked.

"You have lived the entirety of your new life in the Dell, yes?" North asked, eyes dancing.

"Umm, yeah." Jack said uncertainly.

"I knew it, it all makes sense now." North turned to Jack, and grinned once more "How to explain, umm, yes, alright, see it is like this, imagine that inside your body, there is a-a pond, yes a pond, and this pond holds your magic. Now some people have big ponds, and some people have small ponds, but all ponds can grow. The emptier the pond is, the bigger the pond can get, do you understand?"

Jack gave a tentative nod.

"Good, now look at it this way, you have a pond, and it is a good sized pond, but your pond hasn't grown, and why?" Jack opened his mouth, but the large man plowed onward before he could speak. "Because you have lived in the Dell your whole life. Inside the Dell, it is like a sea of power, and because of that your pond cannot be depleted and grow. It would be like throwing a bowl in the ocean and trying to empty it."

"I _think_ I get what you're saying; because I lived in the Dell my entire life . . . new life . . . whatever, anyway, you're saying that because I've always been there, I've always had power to pull on, so my pond was never empty."

North brought one finger up to the side of his nose in a gesture that Jack could only interpret as meaning "correct."

"I’m guessing that you have never been tired inside the Dell, never felt exhausted?"

"Well I mean there were a few times when I played with Jamie and Sophie and just kept doing things after dark until they woke up again. I felt pretty tired after a week or two of that, but I don't think I've ever been magically exhausted before, so no."

North smiled to himself "Then there is nothing for you to be worrying about, is merely your pond growing, in fact it’s a good thing." North smiled again, but then his face dropped into a more somber expression "Now Jack, finish your meal, it is time we got back to work."

Jack groaned.

**_FB_ **

The days and weeks, and eventually months continued to pass, and as they did, Jack's power only grew. The white haired teen could pass in and around attacks like a ghost, moving out of the way only as far as he needed and no more. North warned him however, not to overestimate his reflexes, as his ability to dodge so well was not insignificantly impacted by the fact that they’d been fighting one another for months. Furthermore, he suspected that his companion had always known that he would hold back, which he had, and made it clear that their enemies wouldn’t.

Still, that didn’t mean that he hadn’t improved. His balance was at a level that normal mortals couldn't hope to match. His speed and endurance had increased leagues beyond what he had been capable of before, though he didn't doubt that Aster could still run circles around him. The formation of weapons not as precisely made as his staff took mere seconds now for the most complex.

By all appearances, Jack was shaping up to be a more than capable fighter. That was when North discovered just how powerful his ally might become. It was during another meal, on a day about six months into their training, that North became aware of how much power Jack could tap into. It had been a long hard week, and that day seemed to be the straw that broke the camel’s back.

After a short shouting match between the two, Jack stood, preparing to travel back to the cold room and ignore his mentor, when North spoke.

"What is that?" Normally Jack would've ignored North's question in favor of his anger, but something in the old man’s tone gave him pause. Turning, Jack saw that the arms of his chair were coated in a light layer of crystalline blue frost that seemed to glow from within. The area of the table where he had sat was coated in a similar substance. "Did I do that?" Jack wondered aloud. Coating things in frost was nothing new to him, but usually he had to focus to do it, and it was always normal looking frost, not this oddly blue substance.

"Look down Jack" North said. Doing as he was asked, Jack looked down, and saw that a faint ring of frost had begun to line the carpet, shimmering with the same blue glow. "What is this North?" He asked, anger forgotten.

"Me, being proven correct." The man answered, and Jack gave him a puzzled look.

"Sit down Jack" North said, gesturing to Jack's chair "This will take some time."

Curiosity piqued, Jack sat back down, tracing his fingers along the patterns that the frost had naturally formed. _Like ferns_ he thought, before turning his thoughts back to North.

When the magician was sure that his friend was paying attention, he began to speak. "When I first met you Jack, I knew that you were a capable enough spirit inside the Dell. I wasn't sure if you were capable of helping me fight Pitch, but I knew that I needed help, and that you had someone to fight for, so I decided to ask you to accompany me."

"I know all this" Jack pointed out.

"Yes you do, or at least, you know most of it. Jack, you recall I imagine, when we left the Dell, correct?" Jack nodded his assent. "And you no doubt remember taking a bit of its energy as we crossed the line?" Jack's eyes flicked over to the door of the cold room where his staff rested, and nodded once again. "You shouldn't have been able to do that." Jack's brow furrowed in confusion, but said nothing.

"You see Jack, just being a creature of the cold does not give one the ability to tap into Winter's power like that. There are Ice Imps, and Snowforms, and other creatures that hold sway over the cold and snow, but they cannot grab Winter's power in the manner that you do. Are they strengthened by Winter? Yes, but not in the same way you are. Think of it this way, Winter and the cold and snow are tied together in an intricate web, but they do not have to be together. There can be Winter’s that are warm and snowless, just as it can be cold and snowy during all times of the year depending on where you are. All along these threads lay creatures who rely on ice and snow, and they are pulled by the web. You Jack, are something more though. You don't just lay on the web, you are at the center of it. The web does not just pull you, you also pull the web. You are more than just a spirit of frost or ice or snow, you are a spirit of Winter itself."

"So what does that _mean_ exactly?"

"You see the frost you made, yes? Does it not look familiar?" Jack examined the pattern on the table more closely, the light was soft but noticeable, and he realized that by now the light layer of it should have melted in the warm room, yet it hadn't.

"It’s like the ice I used on the Wendigo's" he said.

"Exactly" North continued "This is no ordinary ice, just as you are no ordinary spirit. This ice is harder to melt, harder to break, it is stronger and colder than natural ice, because this ice is magic."

"But what does this all mean?"

"It means that you are far more powerful than I thought, or at least you can be. You are capable of controlling one of the strongest natural magical forces on the planet, the Essence of Winter. What's more you produce it."

"Produce it?"

"Why yes Jack, we are far enough from the Dell that you aren't calling on any of its power, and even if you were, it would take time to get through all my wards. Your staff is inside the cold room, and you made no effort to call to it, this frost is your own creation."

"So what? Am I leaking Essence of Winter?"

North laughed "No, don't be silly."

Jack sighed "Good, that didn't sound too good."

"When it is exuded by the body the old texts called it the 'Aura of Winter'."

Jack's face fell "Oh."

North laughed "Do not be disappointed Jack, it is just another sign of how powerful you may become, not every creature tied to Winter exudes an Aura, it can be a very useful ability to have, according to the ancient tomes.

"What tomes?"

"The tomes of the Seasons of course. They are records of the great histories of the seasons and those who could call on their power. None of the spells or techniques, but interesting information none the less."

"Could I see it?"

"Of course, it is your birthright after all. I know I have a copy around here somewhere." North stood and began to walk towards the stairs "But it is late my friend, and I believe that we have had enough training for today, tomorrow we rest, and I will see if I cannot find the book." Pausing on the stairway, North turned back to look at Jack "Hmm, so many different names for you, which one will we settle on?"

"What do you mean?" Jack asked, standing and walking towards the cold room, where soon enough a great pile of snow would await him.

"Oh you know, first you were Jack, then you were Frostling, and now you are one of Winter's Chosen."

"I think I'll stick with Jack" he said, smiling.

"Indeed, so will I." North resumed walking up the stairs, waving without looking "Goodnight Jack."

"Goodnight North" Jack called, before turning and walking into the cold room.

**_FB_ **

About three fourths of the way through their training regimen, North decided to test Jack on his less than magical abilities. One day, whilst Jack was resting on a snow pile, absent mindedly shaping a floating sphere of snow into different forms, North threw something at his student. Jack, rather caught up in his little game, didn't notice it – that is until it connected with his head.

"Ow" Jack complained "that hurt."

"Hmph, maybe you should pay more attention to your surroundings then."

"Mleh" Jack said in reply, sticking his tongue out at the other before sitting up and picking up the object North had tossed at him.

"A staff?" He asked. "Thanks, but I've already got one, and it’s kind of chock full o'energy."

"Yes Jack, I am well aware, but this isn't a gift, it is for training."

"Training?"

"Exactly, you wield a staff, now we will see you use it."

Jack picked up the staff and appraised it. He might not have retained his memories of his life, but he knew what made a good staff, so he presumed that he'd had some experience with them before his death. The staff that North had bought, or, knowing the old man, potentially carved was very well made. It highly resembled Jacks staff, although the curve of the crook was much rounder than his icy one.

"Alright, I'm going to guess you have practice with using staffs then?"

"I have a bit yet, it’s been a few decades since I've actually practiced with one though."

Jack grasped the staff loosely in one hand as he stood. "So, are we just going to spar with them then?"

"Until I can get a good grasp of your capabilities with one yes."

"Alright then" Jack twirled the staff nimbly, deftly twisting it with the surety of practice he could no longer remember.

"It will take more than fancy tricks to hold your own against me Jack." North said with a smile, echoing their first battle.

Jack pointed the tip of his weapon at North and smirked "I've got a lot more than fancy tricks up my sleeves North."

"Well then Jack, as I believe that you would say 'bring it'"

"For the record" Jack said, readying himself "I've never said that in my life."

Then he struck.

One moment the white haired boy was standing there, his demeanor relaxed and lackadaisical, and then in the blink of an eye he had darted forward. North had several centuries and inches on Jack and was one of the greatest swordsmen alive, yet even with his far superior experience, he was caught off guard. Jacks staff made a whistling noise as it descended, and North's own came up to block it. Surprise attack thwarted, Jack backed away with a few quick hops, there was no way he was going to overpower North, so there was no point in trying.

As North reassessed Jacks abilities, Jack took a second to glance over North's own staff. Whereas Jacks was clearly made in the style of his icy crook, North's was more traditional, devoid of a crook, far wider than Jacks and as tall as its wielder.

"Okay" North admitted with a shrug "You are better than I thought."

"Trust me" Jack said with a grin "You haven't seen anything yet." Once more he darted forward, staff in a two handed grip, but this time North was ready. The bottom of his own staff shot up, trying to connect with Jack's jaw, but he eased around it, and with a sharp push of his left hand, the bottom of his weapon cracked into North's leg. North turned, staff whirling, but Jack had already backed away.

"That hurt." North said.

"Well now you know how I feel."

This time it was North who took the initiative. Before their training, the magician likely would've taken Jack completely by surprise, for his speed was far beyond that what someone of his size should've been able to manage. Now however, Jack had months of experience with the old man, and had increased his own speed and reaction timing beyond what he had thought himself capable of. As it was, Jacks wasn't the only speed that had been increasing during his training, and the swipe North directed at him barely missed.

North's assault didn't let up however, unlike Jack he had the advantage in strength and he knew it. Another swipe of the staff breezed by Jack as he deftly wove his way between the blows. With a small hop, Jack curled his body and somersaulted through the air, staff once more whistling as it came down on North's other leg. North swiped again, aiming to at least glance him, but Jack kicked off the ground and tucked his feet underneath him, and the staff swung past. Pushing his feet down, Jack settled on the staff for a scant second before kicking off from it, and back flipping away.

North raised an eyebrow "How much experience did you say you had?"

"I didn't" Jack replied, before dashing in. North brought his staff down, and Jack caught it on his, deflecting the blow, and knocking North a bit off balance. Following this, Jack spun twice, sinking into a crouch as he did so, the edge of his staff smacking the back of North's knees. Finishing his spin, Jack twisted his grip on his staff and caught North's leg in the crook. As he pulled on the magician's leg, causing him to fall to his knees, Jack rose quickly to his feet, pushing off of the ground and arcing through the air to land on North's back. Before his opponent could do anything, Jack brought the crook of his staff up to North's throat and pulled back.

After a second, North tapped the ground, their way of signaling they submitted during a sparring match.

Rubbing his throat, North took a few seconds to breathe heavily before regarding Jack with a look. "What" he said, accent thick "Was that?"

"Hehe, guess I did better than you expected huh?" "Just a little bit."

"In all honesty though, there's no way I would've been able to pull that off before you started training me, I mean I could've tried it, but I probably wouldn't have been fast enough to pull off the complicated stuff."

North rubbed his throat again, and Jack could see a faint green light emanate from between his fingers.

"Are you okay?" Jack asked "I didn't mean to actually hurt you." "Bah" North said, waving his concern away. "This is nothing compared to what I've been through, and Pitch will do far worse if he's allowed to regain his strength. There is one thing I will say however Jack, whoever you were when you were alive, you were quite fighter with a staff. Reflexes and speed aside, I haven't taught you anything about using a staff, and I really don't think there's anything I can."

"Great" Jacks said "That's one less thing to train for."

"Yes" North said with a laugh and a smile that Jack didn't like at all. "Without having to train you to wield a staff, we can spend our time on other things. But that is for later, now I am hungry, are you?"

Jack nodded. "Perfect, then let us go eat, we will need to be filled with energy for tomorrow."

"Why? What's tomorrow?" Jack asked, following his friend.

North opened the door to the main room and turned to give Jack a smirk "Why, that's when we start training you in swordsmanship."

Though he would never admit it, Jack whimpered upon hearing that.

**_FB_ **

Yet more time passed, but this time was spent less on increasing the skills they had worked on already and more on maintaining them and practicing using Jack's newfound powers. In truth though, this amounted to little. They had already spent long enough inside the Slediage, and North, despite knowing a bit about the Seasons and their power, and possessing some formidable mystic might, could not help Jack with those abilities.

Furthermore, even after finding the _Tome_ _of Winter_ , which held numerous interesting stories and bits of information, it offered nothing in the way of manipulating the Essence or Aura of Winter either innately or for spells, and so Jack only had his gut to rely on.

So aside from making sure his skills didn't degrade, Jack spent the majority of that time learning how to tap into the Essence inside him faster. The results in that area were far less forthcoming than they had been when he was merely working on ice and snow of the non magical variety. However, even though it was much slower going, he did manage to cut down on the time he needed by a little bit.

Coming slightly easier than manipulating the Essence was controlling the Aura. He couldn't actually do much with it, partially out of inexperience and partially because he really couldn't think of much to do with it, though North promised him he would think of something in time. Presently he found he could force the Aura outward with effort, expanding the circle, and thickening the frost created near him. If he focused hard enough, a crystalline blue energy began to permeate the air inside the circle, shimmering in the light.

Still, they couldn't afford to stay inside of the Slediage any longer. Even with the enchantments pushed to the maximum, North told him that during their training, twelve hours had passed in the outside world. That would've been enough time for Aster to lead the reindeer down the long and empty road that lay before for them leading to the next town.

"Jack" North said "Are you ready?"

Jack looked at his friend and mentor, who he had spent the last year with and nodded, icy staff in hand.

North turned to the door that led to the outside "Good, the spells and enchantments I used to accelerate time have been pushed to their limit, they will need time to cool down so to speak, or we risk damaging them."

"Okay, so where are we now?"

"I have checked the map room, and according to the latest information I have, we are very close to a town called Ashwood. I actually know someone in the village, he's an old friend of mine. According to him the village's woods have been the host of a strange creature lately."

"Well that’s interesting, think we'll find Pitch?" Jack asked, as they began to walk towards the door.

"I think we'll at least find traces of him, hopefully enough for us to pick up a stronger trail."

Jack stood behind his friend as he opened the door and let sunlight enter the room. "So North, how strange _is_ this creature."

Silhouetted by the sunlight North turned back to his friend with a shrug "Whatever it is, is seems to be in possession of wings."

 


	7. Lies and Disguise

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A truth is revealed to Jack and North as they arrive in Ashwood.

Frostborn

When they finally left the box, they found their surroundings changed. Aster was at the head of the sled, reins clutched loosely while he held his book in another. When a not so subtle clearing of his throat, North took the reins again as Aster sheepishly chuckled. As the pale man took a seat next to the similarly pale teenager, he took a look at him. He hadn’t grown any taller during what he had been told was a year. That wasn’t surprising, unless it was part of an evolution or they simply weren’t done yet, most magical creatures didn’t grow. Still, from a brief glance over, Aster could tell that his posture and stance had changed. He was still relaxed, his movements were still languid, but there was a newfound surety in his body language, a confidence in his physical abilities that he hadn’t seen before.

Aster raised an eyebrow "So frostbite, how was the training?"

Jack smirked "Wanna find out?"

"Hmph, I think I can wait until this whole business with Pitch is sorted out."

"Alright alright, I understand, after all we wouldn't want you getting hurt before the big fight."

"Exactly, we wouldn't want _you_ getting hurt." Jack grinned and the two shared a chuckle.

"So in all seriousness, what was it like?" Aster asked, turning to face the frost spirit.

"It was . . . tiring" Jack admitted "I mean don't get me wrong, it was worth it, I'm way better now than I was before we went in, but spending a year inside that place was a little stifling."

"Not used to being cooped up?"

"Got it in one, I'm used to going wherever I want whenever I want, I mean the inside is nice, and it’s _really_ big, but I wasn't allowed to explore a lot of the rooms."

"Why’s that?"

"North said that I might 'Disrupt highly sensitive experiments with my uncontrolled wild magic' and that I was 'a hazard to the mystic stability of some of the room’s spatial distortions' whatever that means."

"Hmph, so the old man thinks yer that powerful does he?"

"I can hear you, you know" North said from the reigns. Jack rolled his eyes "Apparently I'm one of 'Winters Chosen'."

Asters eyes widened "Yer what now?"

"So you know what that is?" "Of course I do yah gumby, I wasn't born yesterday."

"Out of curiosity" North said, breaking into the conversation as he turned around "When _were_ you born Aster?"

Asters eyes narrowed just the slightest fraction "A while ago" he said gruffly.

"Hmm, interesting, you know I myself was born 'a while ago' perhaps it was around the same time?"

"What's with the questions North, did you change yer mind durin' yer year inside that box o'yers?"

"No no Aster" North said with a grin, though his eyes were still accusing "I still want you as an ally and a friend, however" the smile slipped from his face "I need to know that I can trust you."

"And you can, I haven't done anythin' that was the least bit deceitful." "Maybe not since you've been with us, but you _are_ _being_ deceitful right now."

"How do you know that!?" Aster demanded.

"I am very good with magic Aster, I can sense it even when it’s not being used actively. I held back because I thought that perhaps I might've been wrong, but I used a few of my instruments while training Jack, and they all said the same thing; this is not your true form."

"It’s not?" Jack asked, casting Aster and aside look "So what does he really look like then?"

"I don't know Jack, that's what we're trying to find out."

"So what do you think he is?"

"Oi, I'm still here!"

"Then answer the questions Aster. What do you really look like? What _are_ you?"

"I'm me" He insisted "I'm Aster, that's _not_ a lie."

"No" North said "It’s not, and I can tell that this" he said waving to Aster's form "Isn't really a lie either, but it’s not your _true_ form, is it?"

Aster glared at the old magician, and for a moment it seemed like he was going to leap from the sleigh. Jack looked at his partner and burgeoning friend and rested a hand on his shoulder. "Look, Aster, I don't care what you look like, or what you are, you want to help us take down Pitch and get the kids back, and that's good enough for me."

Aster looked to Jack for a moment, and then he seemed to deflate "Yer right, this isn't my natural form."

"Than what is?" North asked.

"Before I show you" he said looking up "I want to know how you know, I don't care how high yer magical sense is, there's no way you knew right away, what tipped you off?"

"Why do you need to know?"

"Because I look like this for a reason North, and I need to know what broke my disguise."

North hesitated for a second "It was a few things really, firstly there was your speed, there isn't a normal human alive who could move like that."

"Watch the speed, got it, though if I'd been moving like a human you two would be Leshy fertilizer right now."

"Perhaps" North said with a small smile "Would you like me to continue?"

'Yeah, keep going."

"Alright, then of course there was your power, there are humans who can control plants, but that's precisely it, they _control_ them, what you did was different, you didn't command the plants so much as coax them, and they listened to you much faster than those who merely dominate them. Then there's your energy, you had to feed those plants energy to make them grow, and even after that, you healed the entire field without breaking a sweat."

"Check the power displays, got it."

"Once again, there's your physical prowess, you made a jump over Jacks attack that again, no human could've."

"Right, anything else?"

"Yes actually, the final clue" North said "Is this" He waved his hand, gesturing to the surrounding woods. Unlike the area they had entered upon exiting the Dell, this area didn't hold the same vibrancy of life. True there was green here, and the forest was teeming with the sounds of nature, but it lacked something that the Leshy's home had held.

"What about it?" Jack asked, reminding them of his presence,

"When we left the Dell Jack, it was a shock to me. I haven't had to wander outside of its borders for quite some time, and so for the slightest of moments I assumed that what I felt was merely a result of not being inside it, I was wrong. What we entered was not a natural area Jack." North turned briefly to check their course, before leaving the reindeer to continue on their own.

Steepling his fingers, he peered closer at Aster, but when he spoke it was to Jack "I told you that the fields and the entire area were saturated in nature magic that was far too wide spread and powerful to have come from the Leshy, and I was correct. I can only assume that it came from you Aster”

Aster snorted "Yer good old man, and yer also right, I am the one who created that field, and the field next to it and the field after that, and the one after that. I've made more flowers bloom than I can count."

"So Aster, what exactly are you?"

The man sighed once more before slipping off his green coat. Underneath the man’s chest was bare, and as pale as the rest of him. "My name is Aster, but that's not my full name."

As the two watched, the man’s skin lightened, becoming paler and paler, lightening to a shade just darker than ivory. It lightened even further, his stomach, chest, and the bottom of his face began turning pure white. His arms though, instead of becoming pale white, turned gray, and then his skin began to puff. As they watched, their ally began to grow in size, turning so they could see his back which had also begun to darken into grey. Finishing his turn, they saw that the upper part of his face had begun to puff as well, darkening into gray as well, as his forehead began to expand, his nose widening as his eyebrows thickened and his cheeks inflated. Somewhere along the line they realized that his skin wasn't expanding, but rather that he was sprouting fur. As they continued to gaze at Aster, they saw color begin to bleed in and mix with the grey, turning it into a grey blue color. Dark markings began to pop up on his arms, mirroring his tattoos. Aster's hands puffed up into white pads, as his pants receded, and his legs bent into a different shape, his feet merging into themselves and splitting into something else.

When the transformation was done, Aster looked at his ally's with eyes that peeked out from a much larger face "My name is E. Aster Bunnymund."

“Oh my god you’re a bunny.” Jack said with a burst of giggles.

“I am _not_ a _bunny_ ” Aster retorted with a growl.

“Oh come on it’s _in your name_.”  


Aster loomed over the other, who merely laughed harder.

“You-you’re adorable.”

“Watch it frost.”

“I’m sorry, i-it’s just to-too.” After another burst of giggles, Jack slowly regained control of himself, though his face kept twitching and breaking out into a wide smile before he forced it back into a solemn expression. “I’m sorry, if you’re not a gigantic bunny rabbit, what are you?”

"A Pooka" North said in a hushed whisper, eyes dancing with wonder.

"A whata?" Jack asked, as he continued to take in Aster's change in form, a smile relentlessly tugging at his lips.

"Not quite old man." Aster said, laughing slightly, breaking off from glaring at Jack.

"Of course not, Pooka's are shape shifters, but they don't have that strong of a connection to nature. No you are something else, but what?"

"Guess." Aster said.

"When you were in your human shape, you didn't have the typical telltale signs of a Pooka, which is strange."

"I'll give you a hint, I'm a half breed."

"Ah half breed, let me think, half Pooka, half what? Hmm, a connection to nature, something that would link you to the plants, what is it, what is it?" Norths murmuring became fervent, and for a minute or two the others just watched. Eventually though, Asters patience wore thin.

"Alright, alright I'll tell you, since yer takin' so long, my mum was a Pooka, and my dad, he was a golem."

North smacked his forehead "Aha golem, of course, it would give you a connection to nature depending on what it was formed from."

"I also have a fair bit of Bunyip in me on my mum’s side."

"Bunyip, that is interesting." North said with a laugh before a look of confusion crossed his face.

After a moment, the look resolved itself. "You are an Underman." North said

"Got it.”

"What's an Underman?" Jack asked

"It is a creature with control over nature to such an extent as to be tied to it, in a way Jack, Aster is a reflection of you, across the elemental spectrum. Just as you are connected to Winter, Aster is tied to Nature."

"Well really just plants, I'm not very good with animals, really if I'm tied to anything, it's Spring. Also" he said, scratching a furry cheek "My uh, my friends who know about this call me Bunny."

"Okay, make that directly adjacent to you on the elemental spectrum." North paused.

"Right." Bunny said "Also, if we could get back on track, I believe we were talking about him" he nodded towards Jack "Bein' one o' Winter's Chosen."

Jack noticed that like North, his now furry ally’s accent seemed to thicken and his words change when he was under stress.

"Right, right" North said, launching into the story. He regaled Aster with tales of his and Jacks training, about how he had taught the spirit some swordplay, how he had been thoroughly trounced at staff fighting, and how he had discovered Jack's ability to create the Essence. By the time the tale was done, Aster had shifted back into his human form and slipped his coat back on.

"Well Frostbite, it looks like you're better than I thought."

"Want to see how much?" Jack asked with a grin.

"I'm afraid that that will have to wait for now my friends, we are about to arrive."

While the group had been talking they had passed through the forest and entered a short stone valley, passing through the twists and turns.

"It is just around this corner" North said.

Jack frowned as he noticed an unpleasant buzz in the air. "You know, the last time we went around a corner it didn't end so well."

"Bah, that was a one off thing Jack, there is nothing to worry about." North said with a laugh as they rounded the corner.

And found out exactly how right Jack was.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, for clarification, the seasons in this story are capitalized, when referenced in terms of magic. Also, we've reached the end of my game of catchup and edit for this story on this site (a caught up and woefully neglected version is on FF, I'll upload the edited chapters there soon), which means after this, it'll be new content. Any thoughts on who will come next? Oh who am I kidding, we all know which Guardian comes next, but what will the twist in character be? How will their fighting style change? Most importantly, how will they be dressed! Come to think of it, have I actually described Jack yet?


	8. Lost and Found

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Soothsaying is not one of North's talents, and more mysteries abound. Who is she? Easy. Who is he? That's harder.

To sum up the condition of the village of Ashwood in one word, annihilated wouldn’t be a bad choice. Neither would obliterated, eradicated, decimated or demolished. As Jack so aptly put it “This place got _destroyed_.” The village, or what remained of it, seemed to be deserted. The few houses that still stood had huge chunks torn out of them and their walls were smashed in.

“What happened here?” North wondered aloud “Pitch shouldn’t have had the strength to do this.”

“It wasn’t just him” Aster — or as Jack was fairly sure they now had permission to call him, Bunny— said. “I can smell two distinct magical patterns.”

“You can _smell_ magic?” Jack asked.

“All Pooka’s have a specific scent that they can smell better than anything else; my nose catch’s magic, but I can only do it if it’s recent; it’s not my strong suit. I have some cousins who can trace a trail that’s been cold for years.”

“I don’t suppose that you can get one of them to help us out?”

“Not really an option at the moment Frostbite.”

“Dang, because I can’t sense him anymore.”

“He’s probably caught on to the fact that we’re following him, he’ll be taking measures to protect himself, disguising the malaise that he emits.”

“Are they still here?” North asked.

Aster sniffed the air a few times before shaking his head “Been too long, all I’m getting is that they were here, I can’t smell innate magic, so if they aren’t using their abilities I won’t be able to smell them.”

North cursed silently before looking around. “Be on your guard, they might still be here.”

Staff in hand Jack followed behind the elder man, glancing periodically over his shoulder and to the sides. North seemed to spy something, because he launched forward. Jack sprinted after him, and Bunny was already ahead of both of them, crouching down. A second later North and Jack arrived, and the magician knelt down. An extremely old looking man was folded over a broken beam. Books littered the ground around him, torn out pages tossed carelessly about and after a moment Jack realized that they were standing in what had previously been a library.

“Is that your friend?”

“His name was Uchenyy.” North said, closing his eyes. There was a still moment, in which North breathed in slowly. After another moment he opened his eyes and stood. “Why is the library in such a state?”

“Not really sure that’s the most important thing at the moment.”

“No, this doesn’t make any sense” North said, gesturing carelessly about. “Uchenyy was a scholar, not a fighter, we traveled in his early days, collecting mystic tomes. When he got too old to journey anymore, he settled down here to decipher them. It was all he wanted, to spend the rest of his life in quiet speculation and study.”

“It looks like that didn’t pan out too well.” Jack surveyed the room, his eyes alighting upon a book that seem miraculously untouched by the fire. He absently pocketed it.

“No, it didn’t, but Uchenyy couldn’t have been the other magical signature you smelled” he said to Bunny. “He was born with an innate magical spark, but one that never grew. It was enough to give him a longer life, but not youth, he’d never spend that energy unless whatever he was protecting was worth it, doing so would kill him at his age.

“Maybe he didn’t then, this place is trashed, he might have died from his injuries.”

“No no, look, there and there, on the fallen walls, faint scorch marks from weak magical fire. He didn’t have much strength but Uchenyy had a vast lexicon of spells, he’d try to defend himself and his library.”

“But what would Pitch want with a minor magician in a town like this?” Bunny asked.

“As I said, Uchenyy and I used to collect mystic tomes, his library was quite extensive. I myself have more than a few, but he kept most of the theoretical books, or ones that are powerful but useless to those without the _right_ power. Cursed scrolls, sacred texts, ancient spell books, Pitch could’ve been after any one of them. The ritual knowledge housed in this library was some of the finest on Arbidos. And now-” North picked up a blackened page. It crinkled warningly before blowing away in a faint wind. “Gone.”

Bunny rested a hand on North’s shoulder. Jack frowned, and absently looked around. Something flickered in the trees. “Guys, something’s here.”

North’s head snapped up. “Where?”

“In the trees.”

North’s gaze zeroed in on the trees, searching them. Standing, the magician began striding towards the forest. Jack and Bunny fell into step at his sides, but he held up a hand. “No, I will go take care of whatever this is alone.”

Bunny nodded even as Jack protested. “But North you can’t just-”

“Let it go Frostbite” Bunny said gently.

“But he’s-”

“I know”

“But Pitch-”

“I know, but there are something’s you simply have to do alone, Pitch won’t be doing anything just yet, we’ve got time for this.”

Jack didn’t reply as he watched his friend disappear into the tree line.

**_ FB _ **

The forest was quiet and still save for the sound of North’s boots stomping into the ground, forgoing stealth entirely. The detritus cracked underfoot as he made his way deeper inside. The air around him crackled with energy, yellow arcs thrumming over his body. The ground around him bent in some places and exploded in others. Things shriveled and grew, the earth rising and falling as pockets of air imploded. After a few minutes, he stepped into a large clearing, devoid of anything save a few large rocks.

“I know you’re here.” He called out to the trees. “Come and face me.”

The forest did not deign to give him a response, and all remained silent. Nothing discernibly changed in the clearing, there was no shift in the air, no intake of breath, no slight movement, but when North turned, he found a woman standing opposite of him, sword drawn. Clad in a skirt that stretched just past her knees, and a blouse with long sleeves, her glare was leveled at North’s own, and the two simply stared at one another. Her outfit shifted from a stone grey and silver mix to a medley of greens as he watched, strange images rising and fading as her skirt moved in a faint wind that seemed to affect nothing else. Her eyes were kelly green and lit from within by a strange light. The angles of her face were wrong somehow, and her hair was the color of deep jungle vines. The sword in her hand was a thin thing, tapering off to a fine tip. Its edges were adorned with strange writing, and its guard was a smooth curve.

The woman’s mouth pinched into a tight frown, and in the infinitesimal time it took North to blink, she’d crossed the distance. His own swords came up to block the blow, but the force from it sent him staggering backwards in surprise. The air hissed as her blade came back to strike once again, and it was only a deft twist of his sword that saved him from being pierced through. Swiping downwards, his sword alight with crimson energy, she caught his strike and deflected it away. Her next swipe came from the side, aiming to bisect him. Catching it on his blade, he was pushed backwards and forced into a retreat.

North’s eyes shone with power, and he bellowed, sending a shockwave through the clearing. The woman, rather than be pushed, leaped into the air and was carried backwards. Before she landed, she’d made a sharp gesture with her left hand. A sigil appeared in the air, and from it came a burst of light, forming an arrow that shot at the swordsman. North caught the blow on his blade, where is fizzled and died battling against the red that enveloped it. When she landed, the woman flicked the blade from her right hand to her left. Her right hand cut through the air, index and middle finger extended. High up in the trees surrounding the clearing, carved symbols glowed to life, and a sheen of light descended, enveloping the space.

“Do you think you have me trapped ?” North queried dangerously.

“I assume this is the part where you say that I’m trapped with you?” There was a certain lilt to her voice, a brogue, and though her words were amused, her smile was icy.

“Yes.” Tossing a sword at the woman, which she batted aside, he used his free hand to thrust towards her while roaring the words _venite seorsum_. Half black half transparent energy shot from his hand towards the woman. As it impacted her chest, her body began to come apart. Bit by bit, she fell to literal pieces. North was beginning to relax when he realized that the pieces weren’t actually falling to the ground. Instead they floated in the air, and upon closer inspection seemed to be smaller versions of the woman. Her sword fell to the ground, but glints of light soon shone from each of them as they wielded twin daggers.

As one they cried, their high voices filling the clearing, and they charged. Slapping the symbol on his chest, he turned, his rapidly appearing coat twirling around him. Safely enfolded in his coat, he hunkered down on the ground, and felt the force of the daggers as they tried to pierce him. If his coat had been normal, he would’ve been stabbed anyway, as it was, the force of the daggers wasn’t deadly, but it was painful.

“ _Recedemus_.” The blows disappeared. Standing, his coat unfurled behind him, North glared at the swarm. The swarm condensed, the woman reforming by her sword.

“Come apart? That’s a right dark spell you got there.”

“I’m feeling rather dark today.”

“Oh really? What a coincidence, me too.”

“Give up witch, I’ll spare you if-”

“Witch!” The woman asked with a high laugh “I’m no witch, magician, I’m a right Fae and don’t you forget it.”

“Fae? But you touch an iron blade, you walk through rowan trees, and you know one of the magic tongues.”

“The blade is silver you nit. Admittedly things get a little bit witchy on my father’s side, but I’ve never been one for all those fancy spells; sigils and symbols are so much faster, and for the record, I speak every tongue; the benefits of being a half breed.”

“And yet you fight like a mortal sigilist instead of a fairy.”

“Ach, what do you know of the Fae and their fighting?” The woman demanded, though she looked a touch unsure.

“More than you Halfling, I notice that you fight with your left hand predominantly, yet when we started you were using your right.”

“What of it?”

“Fairies are all left handed naturally. Witches at the same time are stronger with their right hands, because the power flows better through their right side, no one knows quite why.”

“Get to the point old man, before I skewer you, she’s obviously not here, and the longer I take in killing you, the longer it’ll take me to catch up to your master.”

“Who was taken? A girl? Wait, my master?”

“Enough chatter you old glaikit!” The sigils on her blade lit up, burning a scarlet similar to North’s own blade. North brought his blades up in an x to catch her strike. As their blades clashed, the clearing flickering with red light, North tried to speak. “You need to stop fighting me, I think I can help you.”

“Of course you can.” She said, lowering the sword before swiping upward to break through his guard.

Before she could skewer him, North’s boot connected with her chest, sending her flying. As she sailed through the air, he realized that she had truly been sent _flying,_ as wings unfurled themselves from her back, catching the wind that seemed to orbit her and keeping her aloft.

“While this is all good fun, I’m afraid that I really have to go now, so I’ll get what I need from you and kill you as quickly as possible; no promises on the pain though.”

“It need not come to that, I can help you, I am not-” But the woman had heard enough, and as he watched she fell to pieces again. This time her swarm expanded even further, beyond what could’ve been made from her body alone. It swept through the clearing, and North readied himself to battle the small things. Instead however, the swarm broke apart into three sections, each coming together to form a woman. Raising their weapons, they looked down at him for a moment before charging, swords held at the ready.

One sword came up to block the one on his left, one rose for the one on his right. As the final woman moved to pierce his skull, North whispered _“_ _Manus_ _me adiuvet_ _”_

The clearing fell silent. After a time, the air shimmered again as the wards deactivated and a lone set of footsteps echoed through the forest.

**_ FB _ **

Jack and Bunny had taken a seat on the fallen wall of one of the houses nearest to the forest. Idly, Jack traced faint patterns of frost across the dead wood. North had been gone for twenty long minutes, and he was close to running out of wood to freeze over. Bunny in the meantime, had been staring into the trees, and sniffing the air absently. Suddenly, he sat up and began sniffing with greater intensity.

“What is it?” Jack questioned.

“There’s another smell, a third scent.”

“A third one? So Pitch has _another_ ally?”

“No I don’t think so, but there’s definitely something strange about this one.

“Wait, what do you mean strange?”

“Not sure, but whatever it is, it’s not human. From what I can tell, whoever this third person is, they fought against Pitch and his ally. It’s faint, but now that I know about it, I can pick it out from Pitch and his friends scent. Whoever it is fights subtly though, I can’t tell much about them, it’s like their magic is contained or something.”

“What does that mean?” Jack never got an answer, because at that moment, Bunny’s head turned sharply. A few moments later, Jack caught the sound of broken twigs. They stared into the gloom of the forest, weapons held ready. After another moment or two, a familiar red clothed figure came into sight. Relaxing, Bunny holstered his weapons and Jack relaxed his grip on his staff.

“North, did you find anything?” Bunny asked.

“I found something alright.” The man replied.

Before either of them could ask what, a voice sounded from behind them. The duo whirled around, and found themselves facing a woman wearing clothing that shifted colors as they watched.

“Hi there, my names Toothiana, but everyone calls me Tooth, and by everyone I mean my sister.”

“I’m touched that we’re so close already” Jack said back. “Where did you come from?”

“Well that’s a bit of a story, when a lady Fae and a witch man love each other very much-”

“ _Not_ what I meant.” Jack interrupted with a grin.

“North, how are you doing?” Bunny asked.

“I will be . . . alright, eventually, Uchenyy was a close friend, I think the best way to get past this will be to crush whoever did this.”

“I can help with that.” Tooth broke in.

“Right, about that, good news, we have another ally in our fight against Pitch.”

“And trust me, you lot are gonna need it. I thought I’d be able to handle him on my own, but that damn dog of his is a right demon.”

“ _Dog?_ ” Bunny demanded.

“Oh yeah, and not just any wee beasty, he’s got a Gwyllgi with him.”

“What’s a Gwyllgi?” Jack questioned.

“It’s a dog of darkness, a fearful type of apparition, there aren’t many of them and it’s a good thing too, they’ve hellish eyes and breath that’ll peel the skin from your bones.”

“Lovely” Bunny shuddered.

“Aw come on Cottontail, are you afraid of the big bad wolf?”

“I’m not afraid of anything” Bunny retorted.

“Cottontail?” Tooth questioned.

“Oh, umm-” Jack sputtered.

“We’ll share stories on the way, we’ve wasted too much time as it is.” North said, seizing control of the conversation.

“He’s right, we need to get going, and since _some_ people” Bunny said, giving Jack a glare “-can’t keep a secret, you can know my decades long secret too, my chain’s been broken already, might as well not start it again.”

“My bad” Jack admitted.

“Shut it frostbite” Bunny growled.

**_ FB _ **

“You’re a bunny rabbit?”

“You’re a Fae?”

“Half Fae half witch.”

“Half Golem half Pooka.”

Ashwood had long faded into the distance, and a few tales had been exchanged. North and Jack had given their own backgrounds to the group once more, but when they had gotten around to Tooth, Bunny had interrupted when she’d gotten to her dual heritage. Tooth then demanded to know his heritage, leading to a constant back and forth as they said their story one bit at a time before being interrupted by the other.

After Bunny finished his tale in full, Tooth got around to telling them who had been taken; a younger girl named Illyiana, her sister. The mood turned somber as they all turned their thoughts to those taken and those lost.

Night was falling, the shadows stretching long along the road. The air was growing still and far too chilly for a spring night. The reindeer seemed to be flagging, and after a half an hour more, North called for a halt. The Slediage broke off from the road, and into the grass.

“We must stop for the night.”

“We can’t wait an entire night, Pitch’ll have escaped by then.”

“Well not quite, I didn’t manage to stop him, but I put the hurt on the mangy man, confounded dog got in my way.”

“Yes, we will have to come up with something to deal with the Gwyllgi as well as Pitch permanently. That is what tonight is for, along with resting the reindeer.” North interjected.

As the group talked, they set about setting up camp for the night.

“He’ll probably have more than some demon dog though, right?”

The group turned to face Jack.

“Well I mean think about it, he sent the Leshy after us, and the Wendigo’s probably, now he has some evil demon dog, odds are that he’ll have something else up his sleeve.”

“Jack’s right, we have to make plans for other things.”

“Well how’re we supposed to do that? I know he has that devil dog, and I know that he’s nothing to sneeze at, but if he has anything else I didn’t see it. He could have anything up his sleeves, Kelpies, Banshees, Nuckelavee, Dearg Due, any number of terrible creatures.”

“Tooth is right also, we need to plan, but we have no way of being sure.”

“So what are we supposed to do?” Bunny asked.

“Be prepared as we can be, go into it at our strongest and never drop our guards.” North said finally.

As the group began to talk about just what they would do to take care of Pitch and his known ally, North conjured a fire and set a ward in place to keep out the bugs. After half an hour they had reached the end of their discussion, and it was decided that they should retire for the night. Since most of them didn’t require sleep to any great degree, they each broke off to engage in whatever past time they had. Bunny once more pulled out his book, North set about finishing the carving that he had begun when he and Jack had first set out on the journey. Tooth meanwhile pulled out a reed instrument that Jack recognized as a pan flute. Jack, having no real hobbies, decided to go for a brief walk.

After giving an absent “of course” to North’s “be careful” he set off into the woods. When the firelight had faded into shadow, and he was sure he was out of range of even Bunny’s ears, he stopped. Ice settled on the forest floor, creeping over it until it shone in the moonlight. The ice grew reflective, until the image of the moon shimmered brightly on its surface. Jack looked down at the mirror he’d crafted. His eyes didn’t settle on his own form though, instead scanning the surface for something else.

“Are you there?” He asked the empty air. A vague figure appeared behind him in the sky, but he didn’t turn. There’d be nothing there. The figure grew close, and eventually Jack could make out the familiar details. “Hi” Jack said with a smile “I haven’t seen you in a while.”

The boy in the mirror smiled back silently.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> venite seorsum: Come apart. As Tooth says, it's a dark little spell, but North wasn't always the nicest of guys, and sometimes you need a little darkness.  
> Recedemus: Roughly it's return, or go away, according to the oh so infallible google translate.  
> Manus me adiuvet: Hands, help me!: Conjures magical hands, useful for trying to fend off three crazy fairy women trying to turn you into a shishkebab .  
> glaikit: Stupid, slow on the uptake, etc. according to various internet sources
> 
> Any other questions leave in the comments. Now to the fun part. Toothiana I am aware, is from Punjam Hy Loo in South East Asia. While I love this version of her, in my story, I decided to focus more on the "Fairy" part of her name, therefore in the Frostborn universe, she's a pseudo amalgam of Scottish, Irish, Welsh, and Celticyness. She's still a really happy person and everything, but she's also fiercely protective of her sister, and so she's not in the happiest mood right now. None of them are really, but they're doing a great job of hiding it because they don't really want to admit what the consequences of failing would be to themselves, so they try to pretend nothing bad's really happening. Uchenyy (who's name is Russian for scholar) dying kind of threw North for a loop, which is why things around him got a little explodey. 
> 
> Finally, who is the mysterious boy in the mirror? I'm sure some of you have already gotten it, maybe all of you, but I'd love to hear your theories, not that I'll admit it if any of them are right. Sorry about the delay on this, truthfully I've had this chapter done for awhile, but I couldn't think of a way to write the last bit until I decided to do the scene with Jack and the boy as a separate chapter entirely. Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed it.


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